War, Peace, and other Galactic Customs
by The Almighty Afroduck
Summary: After a long, terrible war, the Federation of Congruent Nations forms as the product of the alliance created early in the Great War between the Covenant Separatists and the UNSC. Time passes as they progress greatly, eventually discovering the existence of another galactic government. The events that will follow will change the course of the galaxy in more ways than one.
1. Chapter 1

**Copyrights: 343 Industries owns Halo, Bioware owns Mass Effect**

**Author's Notes: Hello everyone, I am The Almighty Afroduck (All Hail), and this is my first story. After reading a large amount of great fanfics I decided to write one myself, using certain elements and ideas gained from other great authors, to create my own universe and timeline. At first, you will be noting how I will be especially kind to many main characters and kill a lot less people to the point of being unnatural. It is best for you to know at once that it is not without good reason, and you will understand _much_ later on in the LONG story to come. Without further ado, here is the first chapter.**

**PART 1- PROLOGUE**

**A Different Beginning**

**February 3rd, 2525**: Humanity first discovers the Covenant when the ship Minor Transgression met with a Kig-Yar ship due to an incident with its Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine. The ship was attacked, which was reported to Harvest. There, a trap was set up between the AI, Sif, and an ONI spook, assuming that they were Insurrectionists. This led to the first skirmish between Humanity and the Covenant. In the aftermath, a trading attempt was made with Humanity taking the initiative, and the Covenant bringing their troops. Again, this ended in a firefight which led to the beginning of the Human-Covenant War, declared by The High Prophets of Truth, Regret and Mercy, whom spread the message amongst their coalition of species that Humans were an affront to their Gods. Multiple events and battles have taken place since then, and the Covenant are now beginning to glass worlds.

**21:47 – September 17th, 2525 – High Charity**

The Minor Prophet of Faith was looking through the files, going over how the past few months had been. She was alone in one of the San'Shyuums' designated rooms, her own room in fact, that was given to those whom had a voice in the High Council, even if it was a small one. She had been surprised at the immediate accusation of the High Prophets against this new species 'Humanity' and how they were a race of 'Demons' responsible for the destruction of their Gods. Part of her wasn't very inclined to believe it. Of course, she made sure never to mention it or always avoid the subject, she liked living too much to be accused of heresy and be hanged by her entrails. Yet curiosity always struck her whenever she thought of the fact that rather than ask them to join the Covenant, or in the worst case scenario, _force them_ to join the Covenant, this was the first species ever to become a true enemy to them all. Her trail of thought was cut short when her monitor's screen went completely black. At first she thought it was a malfunction, something very rare to happen in High Charity of all places, even more so in her own private room, but then a message 'wrote itself' on the screen. When she read who or what was writing it, she was taken by surprise.

_From: Mendicant Bias_

_To: The Prophet of Faith._

_ [Before notifying others of anything, you should know that this text has a virus that will delete it and any traces that it may have existed at some point. Now that you are no longer considering departure, I can show you something of grave importance.]_

The Prophets had always seen Mendicant Bias as on of their Gods' Blind Oracles, one that did not have its own sentience, yet still had a lot of knowledge stored in them and was therefore one of their finest creations. Personally, she viewed it as an advanced, _the most advanced_ computer program in the galaxy, yet still just a computer program. Again, she never spoke of this. So finding out that it, in fact, was a true Oracle of its own, was very surprising. She would have reported this to the High Prophets had the first sentence not been written.

_ [You are, besides the High Prophets, the most influential Prophet amongst your kind. It is likely that if you were older, the chance of you becoming a High Prophet would be very large. But while it has been a subject of talk before in their council, you have made many decisions that are considered controversial. Such is the case of being openly against the induction of the Unggoy, Mgalekgolos, Yanme'es and Kig-Yar through slavery when first contact was made to them, and centuries later still not having as many rights as the San'Shyuum, Sangheili and Jiralhanae. Upon inspecting all possible Prophets capable of leading the separation of the Covenant, you were the one with the best odds.]_

The Prophet was now confused as to how the last two sentences didn't contradict one another. She was a lot more different than most Prophets, and towards the beginning of her career she was nearly relieved of her duties and permanently disgraced for it, but she gained a lot of popularity with the people. Even now, she could comfortably say that a good half of the San'Shyuum agreed with her in her points of views. She did not understand how she could be the one to separate the Covenant as it contradicted with her beliefs, and she was even more surprised that the Oracle was searching for someone capable of accomplishing the feat. It worried her for it to do that, but she figured that now that it was talking to her, she may try understand where it was all coming from. "Why would you be looking for one of my kind to do such a thing?"

_[The Humans, the one your coalition is against, are the Inheritors to the place my creators once had. They are the Reclaimers, the only ones capable to truly wield and use the technology that the Forerunners created.]_

"Then the High Prophets must be notified immediately!"

_[They already have been.]_

She looked wide-eyed at the screen as if it had turned into a thorn beast.

"How can this be true?"

_[The Humans were the Forerunners' designated Inheritors to their empire, technology, worlds, and even the Mantle of Responsibility. This means that they have one of the highest, if not the absolute highest, power and authority in the galaxy by rights, seeing as they are versatile and capable of maintaining and, should they be given the chance, protecting life. Yet when I sent this encrypted message so it would not be traced back to me with proof, your High Prophets saw this as a threat to their power. Their best thinkable solution became eradicating the only ones capable of understanding who the Forerunners were truly well.]_

Faith sat in her chair, staring in disbelief at the screen. She knew that something wasn't exactly normal about how this Human race was treated with such violence, but she never expected anything of _this_ magnitude. "So what if I spread this message plus the evidence you placed in your previous message to all planets, space stations and spaceships through out the Covenant so they can see what they are doing and cease doing so immediately?"

_[This was one of the first options I created when the High Prophets began their campaign against the Reclaimers, and one of the most quickly discarded. The message alone would be far too suspicious alone even if it holds evidence and the High Prophets would immediately disregard it and claim it to be only a petty attempt from the Humans to fool them all. If you were to openly declare that this message holds the truth, a calculated 47.5% would come to your aid, but you would be immediately executed, and it would weaken the divided fraction that defends you. The best calculated course of action is to have many cruisers prepared to transport those of your kind who would follow you and be willing to fight against the High Prophets, due to them being a good 46% yet still not too many. To do this, you must ask Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee, Special Operations Commander Rtas 'Vadumee, Chieftain Captain Tartarus and Chieftain Captain Taurus for their assistance to aid you. The two Commanders will see the truth and will ally with you almost immediately, and the two Chieftains will see the truth and follow you due to their anger at being lied to and being used by the High Prophets. Each of those have the sworn allegiance of many, the Sangheili Commanders have the loyalty of 60% of their kind, 70% of the Unggoy, and 40% of the Mgalekgolos, while the Jiralhanae Chieftain Captains have 40% of the pull on their kind, 50% on the Kig-Yar, and 40% of the Yanme'e. These numbers would be larger, but given the fact that the current Arbiter is Ripa 'Moramee, the rest of the Unggoy, Mgalekgolos and his own kind. The numbers aren't as high on his side as on the other Sangheili Commanders, mainly because, unlike most of his kind, he disregards honor and takes joy in mistreating others of different species. The Jiralhanae Chieftain Captains do not have as much support from their own kind because of the highest ranking Jiralhanae, the Chieftain General Maccabeus, who has an undying loyalty to the High Prophets and an even stronger belief in his Gods. This is seen with great respect amongst his kind who in turn would be able to force the rest of the Kig-Yar and Yanme'e to fight for them. Considering it is likely that you have the pull on 40% of your kind and the Huragok, even though they enjoy peace and would unanimously prefer to side with the Humans, knowing their importance, it is likely that 40% will manage to escape with you while the others would be enslaved and used by the covenant. In short, 47.5% of the Covenant would side with you if you were to proclaim that my message holds the truth and you prove it with evidence and if you had the Sangheili Commanders and Jiralhanae Chieftains with you.]_

Faith put a lot of thought into what Mendicant Bias was asking and probably expecting of her. Numbers did not lie, and it would probably be a very tight war with every single soldier being the difference between victory and defeat. But she knew that the opposite side was more numerous, and unlike her own kind, the other races had billions of soldiers each, so for the other side to have a 5% advantage could mean their destruction. She closed her eyes in thought, going through all possible scenarios in her head if she was to lead a war, and while the advice and strength of the Commanders and Chieftain Captains would help a lot, she couldn't see herself winning against the other side without taking crippling amounts of losses. She put her head in her hands in stress and frustration before saying, "Tell me how we would win when the others have millions, maybe even a few billion more soldiers than us and their leaders are more experienced in leading war."

_[By making all your forces leave their home planets, which are likely to have a majority on the side of the High Prophets, expel enemy forces where they are on planets where you have more numbers in soldiers, and allying yourself with the Humans.]_

Her eyes widened when she read the last part. The first two parts she knew were true, and she was already going over how they would regroup, but she did not even _think_ of asking a race that they had spent the past seven months against for their help. Those numbers could mean their victory in the war, but she did not see how they would not shoot if they suddenly appeared within range of sight near one of their worlds. "How would we do that? Even if they were willing to listen to us, what would make them believe that we were on the same side?"

_[The same thing you would use to make your half of the Covenant follow you. Proof.]_

"But the proof I'll have to convince my side to separate from the Covenant probably won't convince them. They would likely dismiss it as a pathetic excuse to go near their worlds and glass them!"

_[I already have gone through that scenario, and if it were to be done, there would be a 70% chance that you would not be believed and would be attacked immediately. That is why you will be showing them the second part of the evidence.]_

Faith was intrigued by this. "What second part?"

_[If you were to show them videos where all different species were against one another on different planets including their homeworlds, and eventually fleeing to regroup with you, the chances would be lowered to a 30%. And as an additional measure, if you were to offer parts of your technology effective immediately, such as weaponry, ships, vehicles and other different things, the chances would decrease to a 5%.]_

She looked to the screen considering everything that she learned in the past few minutes. The truth of Humanity, the idea of separation from the Covenant, waging a civil war and allying themselves with the species they had massacred for the past few months. That is _if_ she were to listen to the Oracle and do all the things it had proposed. This led her to the most important question she wanted to ask, "How do you know that I'm not only capable of these actions, but also am _willing_ to do this?"

_[Because you always seek to do the right choice, and you know that by keeping true to yourself, you would not turn a blind eye to this.]_

Faith sighed. The Oracle had her from the beginning and she didn't even know it. She sat up straight and asked, "What is the next step?"

_[I've already sent a report that a 'world' has been found suitable for the San'Shyuum that may be able to help your kind grow once again. This will serve as an excuse to bring all San'Shyuum who are willing to follow you on several already prepped cruisers while you go on ahead to lead them. Afterwards, you will request to the High Council for the Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee, Special Operations Commander Rtas 'Vadumee, Chieftain Captain Tartarus and Chieftain Captain Taurus to escort you to said 'world'. The location will be empty and from there you will jump to other coordinates too far for Covenant Vessels to track you and kill you. Once that is done, you will transmit the message with the truth of the Humans to every starship, space station and world, while transmitting your coordinates so they come to regroup. The High Prophets will be in too much shock to react in time, and by the time they send a fleet, you will either have an armada that will destroy anything in its path, or you will be gone. You will receive a call from the High Council to discuss the 'world' and go there. The High Prophets will remain in High Charity to help with the war, so you will volunteer to lead the San'Shyuum. Because those whom agree with your views would gladly go with your guidance and those whom don't would likely grudgingly stay behind, then those whom will support you will stay safe and with you.]_

Faith read it all and nodded her head in understanding. She quickly found a recent video log from a secondary monitor she had in her room and found that ships were already prepared. Now feeling ready for what was to come in the next few days, she asked the last questions she had in mind. "What of you, Oracle? Will you accompany us?"

_[Yes. I helped create the physical and cybernetic systems, but not without creating override protocols. As soon as you leave, a will accompany you with a stealth cloaking unit from one of the Special Operations Centers. Using that, I will disguise myself to teleport directly to your Super Carrier. When you finish the transmission of the lies coming from the High Council and later show the faces of the Sangheili Commanders and Jiralhanae Chieftains Captains who will fight alongside you, I will activate a virus that will leave High Charity in a black out for an estimated 7 hours. A fake video that I manufactured will appear on the Covenant Fleets' screens that will make it seem as if we were attacking High Charity 2 hours after the blackout commences to give time to escape to those in High Charity who are allying themselves with us. All ships should arrive to your meeting point within 5 hours, and depending on whether ships arrive to attack you or not, which stands at 50% each, there will be minimal casualties. Honor Guards should be entering your room seconds from now. Good luck.]_

Just as Faith finished reading, the door to her room opened to two Sangheili Honor Guardsmen standing by the sides of the doors and a Sangheili Honor Guard Ultra walked inside and bowed his head to her. He spoke just as the other two bowed their heads as well, "Minor Prophet of Faith, I apologize for interrupting your personal matters at these times, but the High Prophets have authorized me to enter to notify you of something of great importance to the San'Shyuum. We are here to escort you to the High Council's Chambers so that you are present during the discussion of your kind's well being."

Faith discretely looked back at her screen to find the files reports on different battles of the war the Covenant was having with Humanity. She shut down her monitors, put on her Anti-Gravity Belt, and walked towards the Honor Guardsmen. "Very well. Have you any information on what it's about?"

"No, your Honor, I was not given any more information other than the fact that it will change the future for the San'Shyuum. I hope it is for the better." The Honor Guard Ultra replied. She knew exactly what it was about, but she had to make it so she didn't. She knew that if anyone became aware of her plan before time, a vast amount of deaths would be on her hands. She did not want that.

She was outside the chamber doors when the two Guardsmen bowed their heads in goodbye and returned to their posts. She looked to the Ultra and nodded as the door opened. The Ultra remained near the door but inside the Chamber for protection, with several others in defensive stances. Faith lightly levitated to her seat in the lowest row of the right in the end closest to the High Prophets. Depending on how close or far you were to the High Prophets was a measure to how valuable your opinion was to the whole Council. Faith was on of the youngest Minor Prophets to ever have lived, yet even then, with her vast experience and her popularity amongst her people granted her one of the closest spots of the Council. She lightly levitated and placed herself in her seat. It was half crowded, but more San'Shyuum and Sangheili Councilors were entering by the seconds, and within a few minutes, the entire place was filled. The last to arrive were the famous three High Prophets of Truth, Mercy and Regret, all in their Anti-Gravity Thrones.

When the three reached their places in the middle of the Chamber, it was Truth who spoke the first words, "All of you have been summoned here today on such short notice because you must become aware of the gift that the Gods have given us today."

There was much talk amongst all members of the council save the three High Prophets and Faith, who faked a curious look. "It was only mere moments ago when we were shown of perhaps what our kind needed in its most glorious form. A world blessed with low gravity, a safe atmosphere _and_ rich soils. This means that we can finally inhabit a world where we may live and thrive in once again!"

Faith was hearing the conversations filled with excitement all around her. It saddened her too much the fact that this was not true and instead was something a lot worse. A couple of seats behind her, she heard the Minor Prophet of Malevolence chuckling in delight. He was one of the oldest Minor Prophets in the Chamber and had been both a guide and a friend to her. She felt even worse knowing that the sweet, frail old man that had helped her and supported her throughout her whole career would be devastated at the news of the planet not existing.

"Yet, we are at war to prevent the demons from defiling our Gods' legacies and graves. We Hierarchs cannot leave our position to reap the benefits of this joyous wonder, and many of us must stay to aid in the defense of the mighty Covenant!" Regret spoke. Mercy continued for him, "That is why we must request a volunteer with the courage, leadership and experience to lead those whom will follow him or her to the path of our race's well being, the one we must take before we achieve the Great Journey. Are there any Minor Prophets in this Chamber capable of doing this task?"

Once again there was much talk. Faith waited a few more seconds so she did not sound suspicious at jumping for the position as soon as it was said yet did not wait too long so she did not loose her place. She rose from her seat, all eyes on her, some in admiration and others in disfavor. "I volunteer to lead our race to a better path, Hierarchs."

The entire Chamber went silent. All three High Prophets analyzed her to see any signs of doubt. When they saw no such thing they looked to one another and whispered privately before looking at her again. Faith knew that many times before they had been in disagreement, but through all her works, she gained respect from the absolute leaders of the Covenant. Truth looked directly into her eyes with a serene yet serious look on his face. "Very well, Faith. Time has shown us your value to the Covenant and the power of your word in it. You will lead the San'Shyuum willing to go under your leadership to our new designated homeworld, New Janjur Qom."

"At once, Hierarchs." She lied. She bowed her head to the High Prophets, a respectful gesture that they returned. "This meeting is adjourned." Regret announced. The San'Shyuum began to head to the doors, Faith among them, but she was halted by Malevolence. "Child, is it not _wonderful_ that we will not have to worry of our species' endangerment?" The old Prophet asked gleefully. Faith faked a smile to not make him worry beforehand. "Yes, Jurd, it is almost impossible to believe for me."

"Well, it's a shame that we cannot all go there yet because of this damnable war. The Hierarchs say these 'Humans' are a blight to the galaxy, but I wouldn't be so quick to judge an entire race over a couple of misunderstandings. In truth, I'm not even sure what the purpose of this war truly is. Had I been one of the Hierarchs, I would have at least attempted to avoid it." Jurd 'Malevolence' Xren said in disappointment. Faith could not agree more with what he had said, but she knew that there was no point in weeping for a mistake of the past, especially one that was not caused by them. Faith was about to ask Malevolence to accompany her on her ship, when he spoke first, "Although I felt the need to voice that, that is not why I came to you. My old memory is starting to fail me, because I originally came with the intent of asking you if I could join you on your ship, child."

Faith smiled at the old man who was once a father to her. "It would be an honor and my pleasure to have you on my ship." Malevolence chuckled in delight at the thought. They both walked together to the docks where a phantom was waiting for them. Two Honor Guardsmen that were guarding the phantom stepped to the sides, allowing them both through. They boarded the airship along with other San'Shyuum along with a few Sangheili and Jiralhanae for protection.

The phantom, along with several thousands of others boarded the _Long Night of Solace_, the head of the fleet of 30 CSO-Class Supercarriers to deliver the 9,000,000 San'Shyuum under the leadership of Faith. The CSO-Class Supercarriers may be 28.9 kilometers each, but those only took 7,000,000 San'Shyuum in total plus 2,000,000 soldiers of other species to protect them. Between 75 other Assault Carriers of 5.3 kilometers each, the other 2,000,000 San'Shyuum went aboard them with 1,750,000 of more troops. Although all ships were equipped to the brim with weapons, shields and other defensive mechanisms, two more side fleets of 10 CSO-Class Supercarriers holding 3,000,000 troops per fleet and 50 Assault Carriers with 2,500,000 troops per fleet accompanied them for a safe trip. Without counting the San'Shyuum, there were a total of 14,750,000 soldiers protecting them, 8,000,000 aboard all CSO-Class Supercarriers and 6,750,000 aboard all Assault Carriers. While the intention was for 15 CSO-Class Supercarriers and 50 Assault Carriers remain as the defending fleet of the new homeworld, the massive fleet was felt necessary by the High Prophets to protect half of the entire San'Shyuum population.

Faith and Malevolence finally arrived at the _Long Night of Solace_, and from there, traveled to its bridge. On there, they were met with a pleasant sight, at least from Faith's point of view. Around the holographic table in the center of the Command Center were the well known Thel 'Vadamee, Rtas 'Vadumee, Tartarus and Taurus. She remembered how she had forgotten to request them for escorts and future allies when she met up with Malevolence, and it was a relief to see them already here. Her best guess was that Mendicant Bias was well aware of the probabilities of her not memorizing all the instructions it had given her and pinpointed which of all of them was the most likely she would fail to do. Of course, she hid this with a look of shock, but not the unpleasant kind. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company, Commanders and Chieftain Captains?"

When the four caught sight of her, they bowed their heads in respect while Rtas spoke, "The Hierarchs were advised by the Blind Oracle to have us as the Fleet Masters leading the ships to New Janjur Qom, though I understand why it is a _Blind_ Oracle."

"What makes you say that?" Faith asked curious as to what the Sangheili might say. "Because it probably doesn't understand what a _true_ Fleet Master is." He said eyeing the two Jiralhanae. Tartarus scowled at the Commander and growled, "Have anything you want to say, _splitlips_?"

"_What _did you just call me?"

"Enough!" The five turned to look at Malevolence who had decided speak up then. Rtas immediately bowed his head saying, "Pardon my poor vision, your Honor, I had not seen you-"

"Damn it, Commander, I want none of your petty excuses! And that goes for you as well, Chieftain!" Tartarus had been smiling at the display until he was mentioned. "The Sangheili may have been the cofounders of the Covenant, but that does not take away the powerful influence the Jiralhanae have had in it! And it is the Jiralhanae's duty to take responsibility in that! _These_ types of pathetic arguments and pitiful sly remarks make me wonder just how some of each mighty race's _highest_ representatives manage to act like such arrogant _fools_!"

It was rare the time when Faith had seen her mentor truly angered by something. And few as they were, they were enough to assure _never_ to make a big mistake such as making a rude comment around him. Both warriors gave each other one last glare before bowing their heads and saying, "We apologize for our lack of courtesy, your Honor, it shall not happen again."

Malevolence sighed. "My years are running out, and in those I have left, I want to see my people grow again. I am far too old to start teaching discipline to those unaware of it, _especially_ if those are already _professionals_ who should _already_ understand it. I will be going to my headquarters for some much needed rest, and I hope that tomorrow my day will not have to be soured." The old man put a caring hand on Faith's shoulder before walking out of the room with his personal Honor Guards.

All were silent in the room after the departure of the wise Prophet, and it was Faith who took it upon herself to break the ice. "I doubt I have any need to say anything about this little encounter, but I would advice each of you not to anger him again."

"Of course, Prophet, I will make it so that it does not happen again." Thel spoke. Rtas gave him a surprised look, and he returned it with a calm yet serious stare. Taurus then figured he might as well have a word in all of this, "As will I, Prophet. But it will be difficult because of my poor brother's lack of intellect."

Rather than become enraged by this, Tartarus gave a tired sigh and looked at Taurus with a frown. In return, Taurus gave his older brother a wide, toothy grin. "Perhaps I should kill you, brother, so you may die with the honor of saying that it was your own blood that murdered you."

Taurus chuckled. "I doubt that very much, brother, you love me _far_ too much to bring a dagger down my throat." Thel grinned at that, and even Rtas couldn't help but laugh under his breath a bit. Tartarus put hands over his face, muttering, "Sometimes I doubt that."

Faith remembered some of the reports on Taurus, most of them being very unusual. The albino-furred warrior looked a lot like his older brother, one of the few yet large differences being his vivid-blue eyes. Like his brother's orange ones, his eyes seemed to glow in a flame-like manner, something unusual given most Jiralhanae's eyes were usually dull. That was just the physical description, his psychological reports were even stranger. Unlike most Jiralhanae, yet again, his attitude wasn't one of arrogance or blind anger, but one of lightheaded fun, and filled with lightheadedness. She recalled reading how on most occasions, before a battle, he would tell his squad and later platoon an elaborate joke or a hilarious story to get them in the best mood, and from there take them to war. Ironic to his comedic behavior, his physical skills, his strategic tactics, his leadership, his intelligence and his usage of most, if not all weapons, were so great that they rivaled his own brother's. And to the amazement of the High Council, his jokes before fights got his entire squads or platoons in the best mood, which left them _much_ more motivated. All of these characteristics are what got him to the second highest rank any Jiralhanae could achieve in their military. And that was because there could only be one Chieftain General at a time.

"Well, now that that is settled, I can finally ask the four of you a doubt I've had since I arrived here." All four finally stood up straight and put their hands behind their backs in professionalism, waiting to be asked whatever their temporary leader wanted to know. "Are _all_ of your soldiers of your _complete_ trust?"

The Sangheili Commanders were slightly shocked to hear such a question, and the Jiralhanae Chieftain Captains exchanged a look of very slight distrust towards her. Thel spoke first. "All of our warriors are truly loyal to us, I cannot imagine any of ours attempting to stab us in the back or outright kill us, your Honor."

Rtas took the initiative to continue. "Yes, we make sure that our men are all treated equally well, so that they have no doubt in following our leadership in combat. It is a requirement that we have when picking our soldiers in battle, a trait that the Shipmasters under our command have as well, and they are very close to us."

Faith turned to the two Jiralhanae, waiting for them to answer. Tartarus eyed her uneasily and said, "The warriors under our command have a large amount of respect for us. And even if they hated us, they wouldn't attempt to turn on us because they know how we could kill them without trouble. But even then, that isn't the case of the Chieftain Lieutenants under our command. We've fought together through all Seven Hells and back. At least those men and women commanding the ships of these fleets would never turn on us, and anyone on their ships who did would have to go through them first. And they are tougher than a damn Mgalekgolo's armor."

"Good. It is reassuring to know that." Said Faith in relief. The four Fleet Masters still looked somewhat intrigued by the reasoning behind the question. Taurus decided to voice it, "Your Honor, I have no problem with what you just asked us, but would you please enlighten us as to why what we just told you is of much importance? After all, we are to be your escorts before returning our efforts to the Demons."

Hearing the Chieftain call Humanity that made her feel the need to tell these four the truth. But that would come in time, not before. The question, however, she could answer easily without having to think of a complicated lie. "We are at war, Chieftain Captain Taurus, anything could happen. And is it not my right to make sure that half of the entire population of my people is in safe hands?"

"Of course, your Honor, I apologize for my doubts."

"No need, Taurus, you have just as many rights to ask as I do." Taurus smiled a bit at that. Thel and Rtas looked at one another and nodded. Rtas spoke, "Your Honor, I will be heading to the phantom that will take me aboard the _Shadow of Intent_, the head ship of one of the fleets to protect your kind while the Supreme Commander will stay here with one of the Chieftain Captains to lead this fleet with you."

Faith nodded and was about to speak when Taurus interrupted her line of thought, "As much fun as I've had here, your Honor, I will be leaving as well to my ship, the _Bloody Dagger_, to lead the second fleet that will ensure no harm comes to the escort fleet you will be leading alongside Imbecile here and Slick over there." Thel was a bit surprised at being called 'Slick', but made no comment as it meant no harm, while Tartarus groaned when he was pulled by his brother in a side hug. As much as he may not want to admit it at times, Taurus was perhaps the man Tartarus loved the most, and even when he was insulted by him, he could not help but laugh. Tartarus got our of his brother's tight grip that was casual amongst his kind, and gave him a firm head-butt a bit too hard to get him a bit dizzy. Taurus groaned a bit and clutched his forehead, while Tartarus laughed and said, "See you around, brother."

Taurus laughed as well, "See you around , brother." With that, Taurus and Rtas left to their own phantoms that lead to the Assault Cruisers that would lead each side fleet. With Thel and Tartarus in the room, she decided to give her first orders on the ship. "Fleet Masters, set a course to New Janjur Qom."

The two nodded their heads. They barked orders, and soon all ships of the escort fleet and the two side fleets started mobilizing. A few more seconds, and they were all warped in multiple spherical portals. One of the Kig-Yar head pilots said to the three, "Fleet Masters, it is calculated that we will arrive to the coordinates within 12 hours."

Faith was pleased to hear that. She could probably have get some good, long sleep and still have a couple of hours to spare. She then announced, "I will be heading to the room I was assigned to get some sleep. If any events of importance happen, wake me at once."

"Of course, your Honor!" Tartarus barked. Faith turned around to leave and headed out to find her headquarters. She hoped no conflict would arise between the aggressive Chieftain and the righteous Commander. Part of her knew that as long as San'Shyuum were near the two species, they would maintain professionalism and leave grudges for another time. And right now, half the population was in this fleet. She had only walked a few meters before finding a large door with her name on it. The large door had an elongated screen on the top that said '_Minor Prophet of Faith_'. She placed her hand on a small, holographic sphere that would recognize her hand. It didn't take more than a few seconds for it to open to a large room, obviously reserved for Fleet Masters or Ship Masters. She quickly found what she felt she needed the most. She laid her back on the large bed to find it especially soft, perfectly outfitted not just for her kind, but for her. She got up to open the closet to find formal robes and soft sleeping robes. She decided to change into formal robes to not waste time in changing the next morning. She set the room's gravity to fit that of her kind and took of her Anti-Gravity Belt. She lay in the soft bed and covered herself up in its blankets, closing her eyes long enough for sleep to catch her.

**Author's Notes: To avoid confusion, since the High Prophets are generally refered as Hierarchs or Your Grace, I will refer Minor Prophets as Your Honor. I figured it would avoid confusion. As for the Jiralhanae, the highest ranks will consist of Chieftain Lieutenants, Chieftain Captains and Chieftain General, the counterparts to the Sangheili Zealots/Field Marshals, Supreme Commanders and Imperial Admiral respectively. It's been a pleasure writing this, and all constructive critics are welcome.**

**The Almighty Afroduck,**

**All Hail**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes: Hey guys, The Almighty Afroduck's here to publish a brand new chapter! In this chapter, you will see how Faith and Malevolence have influenced in the rise of several species not including the Sangheili and the Jiralhanae in certain terms of power. While they still aren't as powerful or as important as the latter two, you will see how they will be more beefed up and how their new chains of command work. You will also understand why the Humans (although they went to war with the Forerunners) were left to be the Inheritors of their empire and the Reclaimers of the Mantle of Responsibility (keep in mind that there are some reasons I will create that are not in the canon, but I find would be very fitting for this story). **

**I've taken into account how my writing in the previous chapter may have been confusing (some pointed out I let characters speak in mid-paragraph) mainly because I don't like half-assed paragraphs, but I've reformated this chapter to be otherwise. The other reviews I've read state that I've overpowered Faith's main fleet plus two escort fleets. Remember the Prophets from the Halo games (for those of you who have played it). The 3 fanatical leaders of the Covenant that are a part of a dying race (21 million in comparison of the billions the other species have is almost nothing), and the last thing they would want is to have the ships with half of the San'Shyuum population (the top race of the ENTIRE Covenant) to be destroyed. There are a tremendous amount of ships, I won't deny that, but it is not without reason. The last thing I would like to say is actually similar to the last subject. There will be a moment in this chapter where you will find a COLOSSAL number of ships (believe me, you have no idea how many) that is by all definitions overpowered. I want you to know this is one of the only times (if not the only) that you will see this many ships and I have no intention to make this story unrealistic (in the terms of the games). Now let's get started.**

**PART 1- PROLOGUE**

**The Great Schism**

**8:32 – September 18th, 2525 – Long Night of Solace**

Faith woke up filled with energy after a long, dreamless slumber. For a second she did not remember where she was, and then she remembered all the events of the previous night. It seemed almost surreal to her everything that was about to happen. She sighed at the thought of what would probably be years of a terrible war that would come soon for her. It was not long from happening, but she was going to enjoy these final moments of peace between her and the Covenant. She looked around and found the robes she used the previous day folded in a neat pile. She took a deep breath before getting to her feet and putting on her AG-Belt. She returned the room's gravity back to normal and gave the room one last look before opening the door and walking out. She looked around at the peaceful hall heading to the bridge of the ship. She realized the good news that meant not having her sleep interrupted. She had been right on the Sangheili's and the Jiralhanae's behaviors around Prophets.

She walked into the Commands Center of the ship to find only Thel 'Vadamee looking out the large window on the other side of the long room. He turned around to face her and bowed his head, an act that she reciprocated. "Your Honor. I hope you enjoyed your long rest."

"That I have, Supreme Commander. What of you and Tartarus? I suppose that I can assume that he is resting while you stay here."

"That is partially true, your Honor, when you left last night, the Chieftain and I came to the mutual agreement to take turns in guarding the fleet, and he chose to take the first shift, and three hours ago I was woken up to guard the fleet at my shift. While I am keeping an eye on everything so that all is clear, I will make sure to wake him in two hours. We made it so each had five hours of rest and on the last hour we would both be awake for the arrival of your new homeworld."

"Very efficient. I am glad that the Blind Oracle chose you two to lead us to safety."

"Thank you, your Honor. It is my pleasure to escort you to salvation." _Not what I would call it_, Faith thought. She said a temporary goodbye and left to have some breakfast. She went through a different hall that lead to an elevator that took her to the mess hall. There were very few tables that were not occupied, and for every minute that passed, they became less. Hundreds of tables holding up to twelve each occupied the humongous hall, and in the walls were different foods. She finally got out of the elevator and found that everyone had stopped eating and talking to look at her. One San'Shyuum rose from his seat and started clapping. Soon, all followed. She smiled and waved a bit, not really understanding why she was receiving such tremendous amounts of attention. When they settled down, she went to one of the walls to grab a tray, a plate, and servings of several different things, such as vegetables befitted perfectly for their kind, a couple of a farm bird's eggs, sweet pastries to gain carbohydrates, and a bit of roasted meat that came from a thorn beast's ribs.

She walked with the tray in her hands for a while on the long hall made of the purple metallic alloy most Covenant ships were made of. She saw in the distance the same San'Shyuum that began the massive applause waiving at her to sit down. About halfway into the walk, she recognized the old man that had gotten up to clap for her. When she arrived, she set the tray down on her spot and sat, but not before giving Malevolence a hug.

"Jurd, you did not have to do that." She said to her old friend. Malevolence smiled at her and said, "I know I didn't child, but I chose to. And all those in this hall chose as well. And I'm sure that if everyone on this ship was here as well, they would have clapped too."

"Truthfully, I don't understand why you all did. Do not mistake me, I am not complaining, but I don't know what I've done to earn this." Malevolence chuckled. " Oh child, so filled with ideals and large amounts of knowledge, yet still naïve. You have undertaken the role of leading nine million lives to a new home for us. The trip is easy, but it's your devotion not just to us, but the Covenant itself that has earned you this. Many could have chosen the spot you are in right now, and very few would have the same reception."

Faith beamed at him, "I know you would be one of those to receive even better reception than me."

"I doubt it. I'm too damn old for this and I would probably spend half of the applause cursing them all to hell for ruining what's left of my hearing." Faith laughed hard, a couple of tears rolling down her face as she did. The two talked for a while afterwards and finished their very delicious breakfast to head to one of the elevators to return to the bridge.

When they both returned, they found both Thel and Tartarus in the room leaning on the holo-table in the center. It seemed to be the map of New Janjur Qom. _The Oracle truly left no room for mistake_, Faith thought. The Fleet Masters immediately stood up straight and gave a small bow to the both of them. The two just walked near the holo-table, Malevolence especially curious about the map. "Is this it?"

"Recent scans confirm this map, your Honor." Tartarus said.

"Not quite like the original, but nonetheless beautiful." The old man remarked quietly.

Faith felt like she was about to burst out the truth of the situation when she heard that, but thankfully a Yanme'e head pilot put a stop to that. "We are reaching the coordinates, Fleet Masters."

The Jiralhanae and the Sangheili for once stood side by side to watch their exit out of slip-space while Malevolence stood besides Faith with a smile on his face. "Perhaps I may die in peace." He whispered. For a second, Faith thought she might weep.

All ships came out of slip-space to find… nothing. They would have thought they got the wrong coordinates, but when they double checked, they found out they came to the right place. The worst part was, there wasn't even a star system nearby. Malevolence shook his head in shock, "This must be a mistake! Could the Prophets have accidentally confused the coordinates?" Faith felt something in her right arm vibrate. She looked at it and found a small, holographic screen that wasn't there before with a written message.

_[Bellow this text is going to be the coordinates where you will create the meeting point for your forces. As for the excuse, say that the High Prophets sent you a message through quantum-entanglement communications that reached the monitor in your room during slip-space claiming that with recent information, they found out the first set of coordinates to be just as likely as unlikely to have been the true coordinates. To make sure, you were to wait until exiting slip-space to go to the new coordinates which are now confirmed to be true since the first location was a mistake.]_

She read the coordinates and had them sent to the bridge. She then spoke up, becoming the center of attention of the room. "Set a course to the coordinates that I've just sent to your monitors, New Janjur Qom should be there."

Everyone in the room stared at her quizzically when they heard the news. "Your Honor, if I may ask, how is it that the first set of coordinates given to us by the Hierarchs themselves lead to nothing, and when did you receive the message with your homeworld's 'true' location?" Tartarus asked eyeing her suspiciously.

The Minor Prophet looked directly at him, no fear or doubt in what she was going to say next. "I was notified by the Hierarchs last night that the coordinates that were given originally may have been incorrect. This is because the probe sent its coordinates before time, and therefore, might be a couple of systems off. I did not give the orders to change course during slip-space in case the location was correct by chance, and rather waited since another slip-space travel to the new coordinates would only be a about 2 hours long."

Most of those in the room had their doubts clarified, and although the Commander and the Chieftain went along with it, they seemed to be catching on. Even Malevolence was looking at her in doubt. Faith decided it was time to show her future allies the truth, but to do that, she needed all of the highest ranking Fleet Masters and Ship Masters from all three fleets.

"Commander 'Vadamee, Chieftain Tartarus, before traveling onwards to our new planet, would you kindly tell all of the highest ranking soldiers who you trust the most to board this ship?"

"Your Honor?" Thel asked in much surprise, Tartarus in too much shock to say something. "Believe me, Fleet Masters, it is of upmost importance that they be here. It does not matter what species they are, be them Unggoy, Mgalekgolo, Yanme'e, Kig-Yar or your own races, so long as they come."

"But _why_, your Honor? What could be of such importance in an escort trip?"

"I cannot say it before the time comes, Supreme Commander, but I can undoubtedly say it is the most important discovery since we were made aware of the existence of the Humans." The two stayed in their spots, but eventually complied, seeing as they were given an order by their leader. Both communicated with multiple others through their earpieces and eye-visors, and soon, a phantom for every ship in the fleet departed to deliver their best. Malevolence put a hand on her shoulder to speak to her. "Child, I do not know what has caused this change in you, but I have no doubt that it is no laughing matter and that you will treat it with as much effort and dedication as it is required. If you need me, then I will be more than glad to help you."

"I know, Jurd, that is why I've always trusted with these types of situations." Both smiled at one another, being interrupted only by Tartarus's announcement that the phantoms had arrived. Faith nodded at him and said, "Take us to the new coordinates, head pilots. Malevolence, Supreme Commander, Chieftain Captain, I will need you to come with me to some more private quarters, where the others aboard the phantoms will come as well."

With that, she turned her back on them all and left the room. It was not long before she heard the automatic door opening again and a couple of heavy footsteps following her trail. She kept walking, feeling the ship shake a bit when it entered slip-space. She continued on until she found the elevator that would take them to the War Room. She stepped inside, finally turning around to press the right button, but not before allowing her followers to enter. Before it moved, she pressed her hand against a holographic sphere that scanned her hand and proved she had the authority to enter.

They reached the War Room, finding it was large enough to contain at least three hundred hosts. She found it to resemble a theater a bit, given the many seats the audience of veterans were given, and in the end of the room being a large screen, generally used as a projector of strategic maps of worlds, cities and bases of importance. In the end, a two gravity thrones sat, reserved for the two most important Minor Prophets on the ship. She came to the conclusion that there would be enough room for the Supreme Commander, the Special Operations Commander, and the two most important Chieftain Captains to stand besides her and Malevolence. She walked to the end of the hall, the elder Prophet by her side, and sat on one of the stationed gravity thrones, with the other following her lead. The two powerful thrones came to life and floated above the ground.

Thel and Tartarus walked close to Faith, inferring that she was expecting them to be there alongside her. The place was empty save for the four of them, but they had received word that there were 224 more on their way. _Not completely full, yet still an important amount. Good,_ Faith thought. The next to arrive were Rtas 'Vadumee, Taurus and several Sangheili and Jiralhanae Shipmasters, having the ranks of Zealots and Chieftain Lieutenants respectively. The two previous hosts went besides the other two Fleet Masters after having received a message from her telling them to do so. Soon, more and more arrived, until all Shipmasters were accounted for. Looking thoroughly at all those before her, Faith noticed how there were many of diverse ranks, most being Zealots and Chieftain Lieutenants while a few were field Marshals and more prestigious Chieftain Lieutenants and only a couple of Chieftain Captains. In total, there were 62 Sangheili and 52 Jiralhanae Shipmasters.

Kig-Yar Zealots did not escape her view, being 31 in the crowd of 228. Twelve newly appointed Unggoy Commanders, in no small part because of Malevolence's and her own support in the High Council, were the true minority in the room. Unlike most Unggoy, however, they received respect from all of their subordinates of different species for their greatly talented leadership. Yanme'e Kings and Queens were numbered in 35, being thrice as large and strong as the usual Yanme'e. Most insect-like species held Queens that were responsible for the creations of their Soldiers and Workers, but the Yanme'e were different in the sense that the Queen needed a King and not just any other male Yanme'e to fertilize her. Since both contained vast amounts of genetic information, the eggs they laid were all genetically different, allowing their Soldier children to mate with one another, creating the Worker variants, whom, if they mated with other Workers, would only gain Workers. Tens of thousands of eggs were laid by a Yanme'e Queen at a time, but only one to six Royal eggs were laid in a lifetime.

Last, but not least, were 36 Neurnlekgolo. These were very interesting seeing as how they were far more rare than any Yamne'e King or Queen. Most Mgalekgolo reproduce asexually by laying thousands of tiny eggs with sufficient genetic material to grow into regular Lekgolo. Every once in a while, the eggs were fully linked with one another, and separated into two piles when they hatched so each would grow into a bonded Mgalekgolo, the pair thinking similarly because of their united growth. Neurnlekgolo, however, may as well have been genetic mutations, seeing as the newborn Lekgolo did not separate at birth. This in turn, lead to the individual Lekgolo growing a calculated three fifths of what the average Lekgolo measures. This leads them to be taller than the regular than the average Mgalekgolo, and much smarter given the hive-mind being consistent of twice the amount of Lekgolo, hence the name Neurnlekgolo. They are generally more powerful, agile and strategic than a normal Mgalekgolo in a fight, are more than capable enough of leading platoons into battle, and as of recently, can take the rank of a Commander and a Shipmaster.

Before her were some of the best of each race, all undoubtedly loyal to the four warriors besides her, and perhaps loyal to herself as well. All small talk between the Shipmasters eventually ended and looked at the six of them. In turn, Rtas, Thel, Tartarus, Taurus and Malevolence looked at her expectantly. She knew this was the plan, but could not continue it without the evidence. "I have gathered you all at these hours to inform you that we will not be arriving at New Janjur Qom because said planet sadly does not exist."

All those in the room gasped at her words, including the four Fleet Masters and her old friend. Malevolence more than shocked looked saddened, even depressed, when he heard her speak. Faith hated knowing she was the cause of his despair, which would eventually be shared by all the San'Shyuum on the ship, but she knew there would be no more stalling of the events that were about to unravel. "We shall be arriving at a location distant from most Covenant worlds, ships and space stations, and send a message to regroup as many forces as possible."

"Regroup for what, your Honor?" a Sangheili Zealot asked.

"For the preparations of a war that will be coming to us, not by the Humans, but the Hierarchs themselves." There was now much more shock and murmurs of the insanity most had just heard.

"With all due respect, your Honor, why _the Seven Hells_ would the Hierarchs wage war on us, their soldiers, as if we were a separate faction, dare I say, _heretics_?" She heard more than a few grunts of approval in the Chieftain Lieutenant's words.

"That is one of the names we shall be given by them for taking the more righteous path."

"What path is more righteous than that of the Great Journey?"

"One that is real." All were completely silenced when a somewhat electronic voice spoke. A flash of light in front of the middle of the screen and the Oracle Mendicant Bias appeared. Faith looked around her to see all the astonished faces of those in the room, even hearing a couple whisper 'The Oracle'. The large orb with three 'eyes' floated down in between Faith and Malevolence, still facing the crowd. She noticed how large it was when she realized it was twice as big as the average Oracle is believed to be. "You have been lied by your religious leaders on two very important matters. The first is the belief of the Great Journey. Your Prophets have mistaken the most powerful weapons in the entire galaxy, created by the Forerunners, to be the tool for your 'divine salvation'. The second is marking the Humans as the common foe. Humans were originally the Inheritors of the empire my creators left behind, earning the title of Reclaimers of the Mantle. This, I showed to the High Prophets, and rather than attempt to ally with them seeing their importance, they decided to head to war in order to eliminate their existence so that they remain in power. Here are the records that Humans were once strong enough to fight the Forerunners, but were eventually defeated."

Mendicant Bias shot a triple beam through all his 'eyes' at the screen, but rather than burning it, it displayed a clip. It showed their Gods, the Forerunners, fighting Humans, dated a few millennia more than a hundred thousand years back. "Humanity once held an empire a hundred thousand years back that was second to that of the Forerunners in terms of power, strength and size. This empire was formed when the Humans were angered by the control and authority my creators had when they titled themselves the Inheritors of the Mantle of Responsibility. They beyond the Orion Arm of the Milky Way, creating a civilization of 20,000 worlds strong."

When they saw the images of the Humans fighting with the Forerunners, they questioned what kind of an enemy they were facing, and after hearing The Oracle speak, most felt chills running down their spines. Faith, intrigued by the information that was being fed to them, decided to ask, "Why are these prehistoric Humans fighting the Forerunners?"

"The empire the Humans had was vast beyond words, yet even then they had enemies powerful enough to drive them from their worlds. Such was the case that whenever said enemy arrived at one of their worlds, it would immediately be destroyed by the Humans as a safety precaution. After losing a third of their empire, they became very desperate, and quickly began colonizing planets habitable wherever they could find. This included planets in Forerunner territory, something that was immediately noticed by them." The 'smart' AI continued. Rtas then voiced his question, a slight amount of fear in it, "What was this enemy, powerful enough to rock a strong civilization as was the prehistoric Humanity's out of balance?"

"The data on the foes that reaped Humanity and later on the Forerunners is corrupted, and I have not been able to retrieve it again. All I know was that it was the indirect cause of the fall of Humanity, and later on the reason as to why the Forerunners were wiped out." Mendicant Bias answered. Looking around the hall, he noticed the fear in all the faces in the crowd, even in those to his sides, and for no small reason. He lied about the data on the Flood being lost, and would use the excuse that he was torn in half as false proof in case he ever needed it. One day he would tell them of the dangers of the parasite, but now would be the worst time to inform them of such a threat. "Humanity managed to destroy a majority of this enemy and sent the remnants out of the galaxy. The devastating war, however, was replaced by an even worse one. The Forerunners did not take kindly the quick invasion of the Humans on planets on their systems, even though those had no true value. They took it as a war act and began the extermination of Humanity and the allies they had gained earlier on, the San'Shyuum."

"The Prophets were allied to Humanity once?!" A Jiralhanae Chieftain Lieutenant bellowed in disbelief. "Yes, they were allies when they discovered one another after Humanity began colonizing outside of the Orion Arm. The Humans, with their versatility and skills in war, and the San'Shyuum, with their sophisticated technology formed a powerful alliance. When they were attacked by the Forerunners, they fought with all their might. But after having their empire crippled only to face an intelligent, efficient and harsh opponent led the San'Shyuum to being contained in one of their worlds in quarantine while the Humans were stripped of all their technology and devolved to a pre-technological state."

Mendicant took a pause to see all still in shock from his words, yet still soaking it all in. He then went on, "The Forerunners, now had gone through the second largest war in their history, the first against the Precursors, the beings who held the Mantle before them. Like the Humans, they were jealous of the power of those who wielded the title of Bearers of the Mantle. This led to a long war between the two, since the Precursors had no intention of loosing their power. Unlike the Forerunners were, however, the Precursors used their authority in the galaxy to 'play God', and made species evolve to space-faring state, just to destroy them all for entertainment. The Forerunners rose up to them, fighting with all their power, which led to the disappearance of the Precursors, but not before they were left with a parting gift from the latter. The Precursors created an enemy of extraordinary power, capable of bringing my creators to their knees. Unfortunately, this species encountered the Humans before the Forerunners."

Now all were listening to Mendicant Bias with absolute focus. None of them were eager to miss out on an important detail of its story, especially after learning of a species that came before their Gods and created whatever drove them to extinction. "The Forerunners encountered the enemies that the Humans and San'Shyuum had fought before them, but were not as victorious as them. When they learned why both races had colonized without permission on their territory had been running from the enemy they now faced, almost all regretted their decision to wage war against and later punish the species they had crippled. When the time came, they built the strongest weapons in the galaxy, capable of destroying all life in it, as a last ditch effort against their enemy. You know these as the 'Halos' your High Prophets are constantly worked up about."

Faith looked at the large orb with her mouth agape. She was not alone, as the entire hall was in the same condition. Faith had never completely bought the whole 'Great Journey' story, but she never expected something of _this_ caliber. The 'smart' AI viewed the silence as a sign to continue, although their shock was not lost to him. He continued with the pictures and videos one the screen behind him verifying his word. "There are seven Halos, all have the might to wipe the galaxy clean of organic life. These were created after the Ark, the station capable of activating all of them. And that was what happened. A bit more than a hundred thousand years ago, all Halos were activated and all organic life vanished. My creators, however, did not do this without collecting enough healthy samples of all organic life forms in the galaxy, and after the Halo Array fired, machines were spread to all corners of the galaxy, reseeding it with the animals that once populated it. Life returned to the Milky Way, and before me stands proof that life was capable of sustaining itself and even evolving in various worlds. All races were restored to their planets save the Forerunners, their form of self-punishment for the crimes they committed against the Humans and the San'Shyuum, and in turn hampered San'Shyuum genetic codes to help them evolve quicker than most races with the potential to do so and made the Humans the Inheritors of the large empire they left behind and the Reclaimers of the Mantle of Responsibility. This was their final act of redemption."

The room stayed quiet for what felt like an eternity. She opened her mouth more than once attempting to speak yet only found her voice to be missing. She inhaled deeply, and finally gathered the strength to speak again, "Malevolence, Fleet Masters and prestigious Shipmasters, now you all know why we must separate from the Covenant. After this evidence was shown to the Hierarchs when they were notified of the existence of the Humans, they chose to wipe them out for their own corrupted gains. We have sinned against them for the past six months, and I am willing to lead all those whom would follow me into the separation of the Covenant Hegemony and to war because we cannot let these acts of treachery go on. They have fouled the name of the Covenant through blood spilt unjustly, a deed we must not turn our backs on. We must stand together and hail all those who would stand and fight with us for justice that has been ignored up until this moment. All those in this room who will be a part of this movement, state so in this moment."

All eyes were on her. She knew now was the time to invoke all those who would ally with her, but part of her knew that the information given to them all was still raw in their brains, and needed to use that to make sure they would side with her before dismissing Mendicant Bias as a False Oracle. Most in the crowd looked uneasy, waiting for the person in the room to claim allegiance to the influential Prophet. She knew the crowd would not come to her without someone to create the spark, and looking to her left she found that the four Fleet Masters were in a similar state. "I will follow you into the separation of the Covenant and the upcoming war to cleanse ourselves from the sins we have committed against the Humans."

Faith turned to the far right to find Malevolence looking at her with a look in his face that said everything but doubt or fear. She gave him a small smile, grateful for his immediate support. She heard a proud voice to her left say, "I will follow you and fight for you for the truth that has been hidden from the Covenant and for the sins we were forced to commit."

She felt a knot in her stomach become loose when she heard the Supreme Commander shout proudly that he would join her in the battles to come. "I will follow you and fight for you for the blood of our own warriors that has been spilt for all the wrong reasons in glory-less battles against a species whom did not deserve it."

The shout of the Chieftain Captain Tartarus made her feel even safer from the events that were to come. Soon after he voiced his allegiance to her cause, Rtas and Taurus followed. After all those in the front of the War Room proclaimed themselves as part of the cause, members of the audience began to rise to state their loyalty to them and their reasons, all being generally similar. Every one of the experienced soldiers in front of her were now under her command, and she realized that they were waiting for her first orders. She organized her trail of thoughts to say, "All Shipmasters and Fleet Masters will return to their posts on their ships, with the exception of the Minor Prophet of Malevolence, Supreme Commander 'Vadamee and Chieftain Captain Tartarus when we exit slip-space. When we arrive, we will station ourselves in the best defensive position we can, with the fleet that holds my kind protected yet still keeping enough space to attack as well. With the help of the Oracle, I will transmit its message out to all Covenant ships, stations and worlds. Afterwards, I will ask all of you to present yourselves and state that you will be fighting for the truth, starting with Supreme Commander 'Vadamee, Chieftain Captain Tartarus, Special Operations Commander 'Vadumee and Chieftain Captain Taurus."

Among the chatter and barks from the crowd she heard 'yes, your Honor' the most out of all other phrases. They began to file out, in sync with the rumble from the ships' withdrawal from slip-space. She headed to the War Room's only elevator, a safety measure so that not just any soldier could walk in it, with the others making room for her and the other five great leaders. The six of them, along with perhaps two dozen more Shipmasters, returned to the floor of the ship's bridge, departing ways with Rtas and Taurus. Faith and Malevolence, being flanked by Thel and Tartarus, reentered the bridge, now with a new look of determination in their eyes.

All head pilots were more confused when they arrived at a second location vacant of any planet, _of any system_, just like the first. They were about to report said disconcerting information but knew otherwise when they looked at the multitude of faces behind them. Not a single one of theirs looked surprised at the vastness of space and the lack of any signs of life around them, and instead looked like they were in control of all that was happening. The more experienced head pilots gave the others the signal to keep quiet. They knew more than well enough that they were about to receive an important message from them, and coming from some of the most important voices of the Covenant, it was hardly something overrated. Even then, they looked in awe when the Blind Oracle Mendicant Bias teleported itself next to the four. Faith gave it a look as if she was signaling something. In return, she received a nod from the floating orb. The Forerunner AI zapped a beam through its three eyes at the pilots' consoles, now projecting a large holographic screen with thousands of small screens, each in different locations.

She knew that now her face was live everywhere, from High Charity, to Sanghelios, to small shipyards scattered through Covenant Space. She cleared her throat, knowing that it was essential to make her message clear and strong yet somewhat peaceful. If she said it with rage, she may be mistaken for a heretic for sharing the same tone. She needed to call out to all allies in a way that they weren't threatened by her, yet they would fight by her.

"Citizens of the Holy Covenant, I call you for your aid, for we have committed vile acts of cruelty unknowingly against an innocent race. I was informed by the Holy Oracle Mendicant Bias that the Humans we have fought against for the past several months are not an affront to our Gods. It has, in fact, shown me the exact opposite, by presenting through solid evidence me that the 'Demons' hold the title of Inheritors to the glorious empire the Forerunners left behind. It also proclaimed that it had shown evidence that proved it correct to the High Prophets of Truth, Mercy and Regret, and they chose to bury the proof in fear of loosing their power. They have been using us as tools to destroy our Gods' prodigal sons for their greedy need of power of all that they see. What I am about to show you are records of what Humanity once was and why it was chosen as the rightful heir of the Forerunners themselves."

For the next 30 minutes, she waited as part of the evidence that was shown to her Shipmasters was transmitted to all Covenant facilities. Mendicant Bias argued along the way back to the bridge that showing it all would be far too long, and it was preferable to show only that the Humans were innocent. She could only imagine the rage of the Hierarchs and how they must be trying to disrupt the message, but to no avail.

When it was finally over, Malevolence declared, "This, my children, is why we must separate from the influence of the High Prophets, for we cannot be in the same group as those who would be willing to carry out such genocidal acts of war. I, Minor Prophet of Malevolence, declare myself no longer part of the once righteous Covenant, and oppose all its ideals against Humanity. I will follow the Minor Prophet of Faith's leadership to war for the truth. I invite you to the coordinates I will transmit in order for those looking for redemption to join us in our path of rectitude. I request you to leave planets with a majority of its residents still believing in the tainted Covenant. I implore you to take over the planets where you are the majority and hold your ground against the sinners of the once Holy Empire."

At that moment, Thel 'Vadamee stepped forward. "Sangheili, Unggoy, Lekgolo, brothers and sisters in steel, I, Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadam, strip my surname of the suffix used for Sangheili members of the Covenant and declare myself a follower and warrior of the Minor Prophet of Faith. Follow us into the true path of nobility, and reclaim your honor corrupted by the bastards with the massive lust for power."

"Jiralhanae, Kig-Yar, Yanme'e, champions of tenacity, I, Tartarus, strip the meaning of the suffix used for the Jiralhanae members of the Covenant and declare myself a follower and warrior of the Minor Prophet of Faith. Follow us into war, and take vengeance against the reason of our blood being spilt for the wrong cause, the Hierarch scums pretending that we have died for the Gods when we have only murdered their successors!" Tartarus continued. Sure enough, Rtas 'Vadum, Taurus and all the Shipmasters claimed to come to her cause, although after the other two Fleet Masters named their reasons, the Shipmasters simply affirmed their allegiance to her. And just like that, it was over. She looked at the head pilots, now _her_ head pilots, and said, "rearrange all three fleets, ours being in the center, in the best defensive position so that no side is left exposed. We will be holding our ground against all those willing to attack us."

"At once, your Honor." The group replied.

Faith turned around and faced the Minor Prophet, the Supreme Commander and the Chieftain Captain, "Fleet Masters, we are to hold our position for an estimated five hours to give time for all ships pertaining to our movement. However, we must stay alert of any hostile ships and fleets that will attempt to attack us."

"I agree with you, Your Honor, and I cannot help but feel distressed by the massive fleets that will be coming to us, especially from High Charity itself." Thel replied. Faith smiled at the notion, "That is not something to worry about, Supreme Commander, for the Oracle has already released a virus that has given a major power outage on the station. It will not attack life support systems so we do not lose any potential soldiers, yet its fleets will stay to make sure that no harm comes to the place now that it is weakened. The Oracle also created a fake recording to make it look as if we were attacking the station, which will be realeased within two hours. All those who will join us will have two hours to escape and come here, while most fleets still loyal to the Covenant will change course to High Charity and give us the chance to escape. Even after we leave this location in five hours, the virus will last for seven, so we have a relatively large amount of odds in our favor for today."

Both Fleet Masters, Malevolence and all head pilots who overheard her were surprised at the consistency and convenience of the plan. The three turned to Mendicant Bias, asking with their eyes how it made it possible. "Months of survey of all the systems and schedules in the station High Charity led to the planning of the best possible procedure with minimal repercussions."

The four nodded at that. For the next two hours, a massive amount of ships came to their aid, numbering in 2,732 of all shape and sizes, and much less attempted to kill them, being 353; although the largest amount of ships from either side coming at a time was 327. After losing no ships mainly due to them having vastly superior numbers and having Mendicant Bias confirm Friend or Foe tags, their mass fleet only grew in power, each time becoming even more impossible to penetrate it. Faith guessed most enemy fleets gave up hope when the cluster of ships was too large, becoming suicidal to merely be near the area. After the first two hours passed, there was a massive drop in enemy fleets attempting to kill them, while ships devoted to their cause still came in the same amounts. By the end of five and a half hours, when no more ships would come to either aid or attack them, the massive fleet consisted of 21,043 ships ranging from all shapes and sizes.

Faith decided to have the San'Shyuum fleet protected by another fleet five times its size and had it sent to a cluster of systems taken from the Covenant and now officially theirs. A good 10,000,000 San'Shyuum were aboard 116 ships, the extra 15 coming from those that fled from High Charity. For this to happen, Faith, Malevolence and the two Fleet Masters left the _Long Night of Solace_ for the captured mobile space station named _Unyielding Hierophant_. Along with it, she kept a fleet of the space station and 199 ships, 19 being CSO-Class Supercarriers and the others being Assault Carriers. After much talk with Mendicant Bias and several Fleet Masters of all kinds, the agreement was made that Faith, Malevolence, Thel, Rtas, Tartarus and Taurus would be its commanders. All ships that were not part of the San'Shyuum fleet or the six's fleet were sent in strategic sizes and numbers to all planets reclaimed by their soldiers to protect them. As for the fleet led by _Unyielding Hierophant_, although it was not a ship, it was what would lead them to the Human homeworld 'Earth'. Mendicant Bias provided said information only to the highest ranking personnel aboard the place to ensure the data would not fall into the High Prophets' hands. They set a course to the designated 'Sol System', and prepared for a true first contact scenario, apologies, and the attempt to forge an alliance. They all rested anxiously, knowing that the events that were to happen in the next few hours would completely change the course of the long war ahead of them.

**Author's Notes: Well, now you know what I meant by a colossal fleet. For those of you who don't like this, don't worry, most of them will be defensive fleets while only a couple of thousand will be taking action, and for those of you who do like this, I'm sorry but I'm not going to be as far-fetched as to say such a large amount of vessels would stay like that and leave worlds unprotected. Even then, if you still think that the numbers are too high, armada or no, then think of it like this: Humanity by the beginning of the 26th century has colonized around 800 worlds. That is one race. Let's say, however that the Covenant are more restricted to the amount of colonies they could have, so say as a total per species, they have around 600 worlds. Now multiply that by six. Now grab half of that. As a total, the Seperatists have around 1,800 fucking worlds, so having at least 10 ships per world plus orbital defenses to protect them wouldn't be bizzare. The 3,000 ship plus would be their own fleets for war, so a total of 21,000 ships for only a couple of hours before returning to their Separatist posts isn't inconceivable by me.**

**One last thing you guys, I've had the idea biting the back of my head for quite some time now, and I would much rather allow you all to decide in a poll I've just created. This poll will be active until the next two chapters are published, and that will take some time. I've had the idea of bringing certain elements of other stories/games/movies like Gears of War, Star Wars, among other examples, that could influence in the story in certain ways while not killing the original plot. So when I do this, I am open to both keeping true to the two main games of this fanfiction with either choice winning while if certain elements from other games could be added, they would affect parts of the Galactic Powers this story will have. I, personally, want this to happen because I've always had an idea of a mass plausible crossover in my mind, where I wouldn't make things unreal but rather have a probable timeline with a likely story with all ideas put in one. Anyways, the choice is yours. Like last time, i****t's been a pleasure writing this, and all constructive critics are welcome.**

**The Almighty Afroduck,**

**All Hail**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes: Hey, guys! I'm back and still kicking with a new chapter ahead. People in the reviews have received my mass-crossover idea with mixed feelings. Some are all for it, some all against, and some in an understandable middle-ground. When I created the poll, I had the intention of having multiple different species reside in the same universe and affect it in small yet important ways. Like I said in the last chapter, their presence in the story or not would not change the real plot I have for this story, but I would be taking in maybe a couple of different types of technologies they had (not MASSIVE ones) and incorporate them into society for different reasons and uses. But there are things I am not going to do if the mass-crossover idea is still rolling, like the force. I'm going to say it like it is, Star Wars is an AMAZING Saga and I enjoyed it a lot when I was a kid and I still do now, but to hell with The Force. If I want psychokinesis in my story, I would use Element Zero (which I will). Frankly, I don't buy the whole 'everyone has the Force in different levels' crap (save only on Star Wars itself), and E-Zero not creates psychokinesis through dark matter (which is atleast a science-fiction explanation for the powers), but also gives the ability to create Singularities, different surges of power, etc. So the Force is a no go. If I am doing the super crossover, I am planning on having the Twi'leks in the story and maybe one (just one) more REALLY humanoid race. Again, this has reasoning that will be shown in good time.**

**ShoutOut: This is my first shoutout and probably the most, or one of the most, important ones I am going to give in this story, which goes for my amazing mother. Today is her birthday, and I feel the need to put it out here that she is probably the best I could ever have taking care of me, and I really can't thank her enough for EVERYTHING that she's done for me. Hell, putting up with me is already a difficult task, and she has done FAR more than that throughout my whole life. Hell, when I started this fic, she was amongst the few of the people I told about it, and she supported me all the way (she still does). So in the end, what I really want to say is this: Happy Birthday, Mom! Love you!**

**PART 1- PROLOGUE**

**First Contact**

**07:09 – September 19****th****, 2525 – UNSC Hannibal**

Admiral Lord Terrence Hood, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations sat in his chair on the Marathon-Class Heavy Cruiser _Hannibal_'s bridge. He looked over at Earth, sitting perfectly in his view while his ship hovered near the prototype Orbital Defense Platform denominated _Cairo Station_. Besides the large fleet Earth had, the blueprints for the station containing the new Super MAC, a MAC gun theorized to be able to destroy or at the very least punch a hole through any ship, were being used to the fullest. The UNSC had already seen to it that the project was funded out of fear from an attack from the Insurrectionists, but now with a coalition of species against them, they wasted no time in the creation of the new planetary defense systems. The Admiral looked through a different window into the vastness of space, wondering how and why everything from the past few months came to be like this.

He thought of the Battle of Harvest and its outcomes, amongst the countless other battles and invasions many planets had reported taking lately. The ones that reported, at least. The amount of planets going dark on them was increasing at a very alarming rate. All he could think of was when they were going to be next. He knew that although he wanted to be in battle, fighting back against the diverse amount of aliens with his fellow soldiers to defend Humanity, protecting the ODP under construction was just as important, maybe even more so. Being an Admiral, he was well aware of how the war was progressing and one of the best courses of action that could be taken was heavily reinforce all major UNSC strategic colonies. Earth was on the top of that list.

The strange thing was, a couple of invasion fleets that were already defeating a small UNSC colony's defenses left the same way they entered immediately, completely ignoring the skirmish they were having against the colonists. There were multiple different accounts of similar situations that had happened, varying from planetary invasions, to a battle of fleets, to a mere few ships hovering over an unprotected planet. It didn't matter where they were, how many they were or what they were doing. In the end, they all left. This had intrigued all the heads of HIGHCOM, including him, the newly appointed Vice Chairman of the UNSC Defense Committee.

"Sir, we've got slip-space ruptures behind the Moon! None of their readings match UNSC ships!" One of the Ensigns shouted. _Damn it, I knew it was too good to be true,_ Hood thought. All around him, everyone was working on their respective stations, already preparing the ship's various weapons. "How many?"

"Probably more than a hundred, sir! Maybe a hundred and fifty, and some of them are huge! They seem to be about-" The Ensign cut her statement short when around 200 alien ships came to view. The real silencer however, was the fact that 19 of those ships could be well over 20 times the size of Hood's own Cruiser. And that was without counting the strange bi-spherical station, if he had to guess, that was at the head of the fleet. In his mind, he ran through all the scenarios possible, amongst them the evacuation of possible VIP targets on his homeworld, and the amount of ships they may be able to take down before dying. He felt the pit of his stomach grow deeper when he saw the fleet get close. With a combined effort of the ships guarding the ODPs under construction and the 7 ODPs that were now operational, they may have taken down a hundred, maybe with the aid of a few nukes from Earth. But part of him knew that there was little to no chance of survival, and if he was going to die, he would not go down without a fight.

"Prepare the MAC guns. Aim for the smaller ships, the ones with a chance of being taken out by us. I'll radio HIGHCOM to see if they have any warheads they could send to take care of the big ones. Ensign, I want you to radio all UNSC ships in the area." In the midst of the silence in the bridge, the Ensign responded quietly, "Of course, Sir."

"I won't lie to you, marines. From the look of this, I doubt barely any of us will survive. They stopped attacking our minor colonies and somehow found our homeworld, and it wouldn't be farfetched to say that they came well prepared. How they found our most symbolic stronghold, I don't know, and I probably never will. But I do know this. We will _not_ be giving into _any_ of their demands, we will _not_ be surrendering to them, and _like hell_ will we be going down without a fight! We may be outnumbered, but we are Humans! We've lived and survived more wars than there are teeth in a gator's jaws! When faced with overwhelming odds, we've _overcome_ those odds and we've survived! We are Humans, a race that will not be screwed with, and we'll show _exactly_ why to these alien bastards today!" The whole ship, the whole _fleet_ cheered at the Admiral's speech. Now given newfound courage, ships from all around the planet began to head to the _Hannibal_'s position, with it being the flagship of the defense fleet.

"MACs at 90%, sir!" Another Ensign reported. The Admiral nodded, looking to his left and right and finding the legion of ships under his command prepping their weapons as well. _May God help us all_, Hood thought. He looked around to find one of the consoles operating the MAC guns to be at 95%. The Admiral looked forward, "Fire on my mark."

The UNSC ships, numbered in 120, now faced the Covenant fleet closing in their position, preparing to fire in a moments notice. He tuned out all voices and shouts of command, and for a few seconds contemplated on his whole life, and whether it had been worthwhile or not. He knew the Ensign notified him of the MAC guns being ready, but he enjoyed the last seconds of silence he would have in his life. He was about to give the orders, but at that moment, another Ensign shouted, "SIR! The aliens are transmitting a message on all frequencies! I think they're trying to communicate with us!"

"How so, Ensign?" Hood inquired. The man went through the comms attempting to decipher the message. After others joined him in the work, they finally finished the task. The Admiral noticed that they had stopped, and couldn't help but think that this was one last act of humiliation on the alien's part. He assumed that they were going to proclaim themselves victors of the battle they were about to go through, and if he was right, he was going to give the orders to fire anyways. What came next, however, was something completely unexpected. What was transmitted was a video, as was expected, but the fact that they could understand it without anyone translating the languages suggested they already knew of it. That would have surprised the whole crew had it not been overshadowed by what the message was about.

The broadcast began with an alien with an oval-like head, an elongated neck and a hunched body sitting on a floating chair. _Probably Anti-Gravitational_, Hood thought. To the alien's right was yet another more diverse looking alien. It's head was a bit hunched forward because of its neck, its jaws were four, and its skin looked scaly. This one stood strong, determination in its eyes, without any apparent bloodlust. To the alien in the throne's left was another different looking alien. This one, opposite to the second one, was filled with white fur along its albino-colored skin, with two fangs protruding from its jaw along with other smaller yet still sharp teeth. If the second alien resembled a reptile, perhaps an alligator of the sorts, the third resembled a large gorilla. All attention returned to the alien in the center, as it spoke with an relatively distinct feminine voice.

"Greetings, Humans. I am the Minor Prophet of Faith of the San'Shyuum species. The warriors to my sides are the Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadam of the Sangheili species and the Chieftain Captain Tartarus of the Jiralhanae species." Said the alien, or San'Shyuum now, as she pointed her hands at the two other tall aliens at her side, now denominated Sangheili and Jiralhanae respectively. Hood was not sure where this was going after he expected a message of how they would lead the destruction of his kind, but dismissed any preemptive conclusions until after the video ended.

"I will not attempt to deceive you, Humans, the relations between yourselves and us has been less than healthy, in no small part because of us." 'The Minor Prophet of Faith' continued. Most were shocked that an apparent leader for the many species they had before encountered, say those words in apparent remorse. This was definitely something unexpected to the Admiral and all the soldiers aboard the ships. "We have detected a mass build up in energy in your ships as soon as our fleet entered the system even though you are nearly outnumbered two to one. I cannot help but notice the valor in you all to be willing to face such odds and even death before surrendering. A virtue that is in no way meaningless. Pardon my deviation from the subject at hand, the reason we have arrived to your homeworld is because we would like to repay you for all the war crimes we have committed. We have been taken for fools by our leaders and have been used as tools for false claims and pure lies. We know that most of you are not convinced by this, which is why we will show you different recordings of different planets, stations, even our own homeworlds, so you know that not all of us enjoy fighting and dying for an undeserved cause."

What happened next was that the video switched from being a simple screen with the three aliens with a purpled colored background to a view from what was probably a camera's. Many armored 'Sangheili' were in some sort of mess hall apparently talking. Suddenly, a holographic screen in the room appeared and, unless he was mistaken, Faith's face appeared speaking as blurry videos replaced her image yet not her voice. It was probably fast-forwarded because by the end of what may have been half an hour, all the 'Sangheili' activated what appeared to be some sort of plasma double swords. As they did, they all looked up and gave a collective roar. At first, Hood thought they were against her, but that changed when the next video was one of the 'Sangheili' on top of an Anti-Gravity chair. The camera changed to the viewpoint of another ship, titled 'Faith's ship', looking at an alien fleet approaching them, presumably with the Sangheili shown previously. Rather than engage in a firefight, the ships turned around when they got close enough and took a stance that looked like it was protecting Faith's own.

The next recording was one of a group of Jiralhanae on an open, apparently public, field. They were huddled around one of the screens, and towards the end, several roared like the Sangheili did. The main difference is that one of those in the group threw a knife and destroyed the monitor. The group that roared was apparently greatly angered by this, and soon a gory fight broke out between the group and the knife thrower. The group won, only to be found by a Jiralhanae platoon apparently supporting the knife thrower's ideals. It didn't take long for the platoon to massacre the group. The videos after that were more short lived, showing all out civil fights between groups of the same species. Some showed fast-forwarded taking of planets, whether they were in favor or against Faith was not known to Hood, while others showed ships fleeing. The ships ended up either joining a gargantuan fleet, for lack of better words, or being decimated by it. In the fleet, they recognized the mobile space station that the Minor Prophet of Faith was in at the moment, and figured this was the fleet in favor of going against the leaders of the alien Coalition.

After the long display ended, the screen returned to the original three. The Prophet began to speak again, "As you have seen, we have been torn by the Great Schism, and many are still undecided about which side to take. It appears most that will declare allegiance to our cause have already arrived, and those left will keep fighting for their old beliefs. The amount of fighters they have is greater than ours by a good 5%. But our species, being six the fighter races, have populations numbered in billions, the smallest being 23 billion. This percentage is worth 7.65 billion in troops, medics, tech experts and many more abled bodies capable of defeating us in the war that will come. That is why I would like to propose an alliance with your kind."

Hood hardly believed what he just heard. His weapons had been prepped for combat since the slip-space ruptures appeared behind Luna. The last thing he had expected was the proposal for an alliance between them and the enemies that had slaughtered them for the past few months. He knew that everything she was saying was far too complex to be a lie. The videos did look like they came from surveillance cameras, they had enough ships to kill them and destroy Earth yet they did not move and a small part of him was inclined to believe them. Maybe it was the thought of Humanity being constantly in a state of civil war that made him emphasize with the aliens, the reminder that Humanity was only now united purely out of survival. He believed the Prophet enough to accept what was being shown to him. An alliance, however, was something entirely different.

"I know this is something barely natural to hear coming from former enemies." Faith said. _Damn right_, thought Hood as the San'Shyuum continued, "That is why we would be more than willing to share our technology based on warships, medicine, weaponry, and anything else you may want or need. If we cannot form this alliance against the Loyalists, then perhaps we will all perish under their sheer tenacity and crude yet proficient strategies. If you are willing to make a deal, several ports for the mobile space station _Unyielding Hierophant_ are open to your ships, diplomats and security, and your fleet may accompany you as an added measure for your safety."

Hood went over all possible scenarios in his head. He could refuse to them even though they could become powerful allies. That is, if they aren't enemies in disguise. Then again, after seeing everything that had been shown to him in these past few minutes, he was inclined to believe otherwise. Looking at it logically, he had two real choices. Ally Humanity with the 'Separatist' coalition and gain the ways to heal the planets that had been burnt and create the ships they needed, or they could fend for themselves and not trust them. He knew which choice was more logical even though he didn't practically enjoy it. All he hoped was that the rest of HIGHCOM would see it that way, too. He raised two fingers to his right earpiece. "Did you get all that, Sir?"

"Yes Admiral, I did. The Security Committee is having a fit over this." Fleet Admiral H.T. Ward, Chief of Naval Operations, said over the comms. "Parangosky is torn between joining them and attacking. It's rare the time her interests and paranoia are in completely different positions. Truthfully, as cold as she may be, I feel like I'm in the same position as hers. For seven and a half damn months we've been fighting bastards with superior technology and numbers, leaving our only advantage to be strategies, and now they're offering the first two. Strauss thinks we should be prepping the warheads and blasting their asses to hell, Hogan thinks we need the numbers and Dellert says we should join them learn how to counteract the other half's plans if they were to give them to us. Parangosky has just declared herself opposed to the idea. She believes it would allow them to infiltrate our defenses and gain the location of all our stations. The only two votes left to finish this are ours, and if we tie, then we will ignore them and tell them to leave our territory before being forced to take immediate action. Anything you have in mind, Admiral?"

H. T. Ward was a more than trustworthy man in terms of virtues. In terms of military, he was currently the highest ranking officer of the UNSC and therefore its head. In terms of politics, he became the de facto leader of humanity in these times of war. Being the Chairman of the Security Committee, the Fleet Admiral and the Chief of Naval Operations earned him all those titles. Hood knew that this was the kind of man to listen to reason and never truly close himself to viable alternatives, so he figured he could speak freely of what he thought of it all.

"Frankly, Sir, I'm not sure what to say. Part of me is inclined towards joining them if they are willing to help us to pay us back for the mistake they did. I guess having so many wars on our kind's history, a lot of them fought for the wrong reasons, gives me enough empathy to look at things from their point of view. Personal opinions aside, having six or seven species to back us up in the long war ahead may prove to be more than useful, including in the long run. They seem to be willing to share technological advantages like shielding for our troops and ships, and that is fine by me. I vote in favor of forming a possible alliance, Sir."

Hood heard a sigh from the other side of the line. "Somehow you always get your points across charismatically. I vote in favor, the final results being 4 in favor and 2 against. If it's the smaller half of those alien that are willing to work with us for the well being of us all, then I say we'd stupid to waste an opportunity that'll probably come around after the next hundred lifetimes. Admiral, how close is your ship to their meeting point?"

"It's at the head of the fleet. They transported their own mobile space station so that we may dock there. All I need is the go ahead." From the other side of the line, Hood heard, "Then I trust you to be our shining representative, Admiral. If they are willing to compensate for the decimation of some of our colonies, then you need to make the most of it. This includes medicine, plasma technology, ship schematics, _hell_, anything that could help boost our power in this campaign."

"Yes, Sir!" The Admiral said. With that he finally took his index and middle fingers off of his right ear and looked at the pilots on the bridge. He ordered, "Set a course to the bi-spherical base designated _Unyielding Hierophant_. I would like an escort of the best ODST this fleet has to give to accompany us to the meeting room where I will probably find the three from the screen. Send word to Commander Jacob Keyes of the Halcyon-Class Light Cruiser the _Pillar of Autumn_ to come along and bring his ship's AI, Fitzgibbon."

"Yes, Sir!" The chorus of marines shouted. They knew that Admiral Hood was part of the Defense Committee. If he ever made a decision as important as this one, it was because the Committee had reached a result. Soon, the Hannibal and the Pillar of Autumn began to move towards the alien fleet while his own warships followed keeping a safe distance. The sleek, bulbous vessels that formed the alien armada moved giving a clear path to the space headquarters.

The UNSC fleet came to a halt when they were given Hood's signal so they could clear a path should relations go sour. The two lead human ships went forward still as some sort of plasma powered shields lowered, allowing them through so they could dock. Most of those aboard both ships were surprised and slightly fearful when the ship was pulled presumably by magnetism to the spots left to dock. It ended soon after the ships came to a stop and a bridge that looked like it was made out of light blue energy powered up and met both ships' gates. Hood felt the need to give one last instruction for all to hear in case this was a trap.

"Ladies, gentlemen. Soldiers of the United Nations Space Command. I look at you all as equals, as champions of Humanity willing to give their lives should they be asked. That is why my last directive to you all will not be easy, but nonetheless necessary. Right now, we will be meeting the apparent leaders of the alien insurrection who we will hopefully become allies with if everything goes right. But I would be a terrible Admiral if I were to assume that there is no chance of anything going wrong. If this is all a ruse, then I will have Fitzgibbon give my fleet the order to leave. Fitzgibbon will also notify the _Hannibal _and the _Pillar of Autumn_ to overload their reactors to destroy this station and all alien ships around. I know you aren't ground marines and that less than half of you barely know how to wield a simple pistol, but what I'm asking of you is to secure Earth's survival."

Everyone in the bridge stared at him silently but nodded their heads with determined eyes. The bridge's doors opened to a squad of ODSTs standing behind it. They all saluted him and the one in the front, presumably the leader, announced, "Admiral Hood? I'm Sergeant Felicia Sanderson. My troops and I are one of the two teams that will be escorting you and Commander Keyes to the meeting room."

"Very well. Sergeant Sanderson, I want you and your ODST to capture everything that you see on your helmets' cameras. Everything, from internal structure to types of weaponry can and will be put in an intelligence report to be given to the Defense Committee. We can't risk losing valuable Intel if this possible alliance goes to hell." The ODSTs replied a firm, "Yes, Sir!"

"Let's go, then." With that done, they all walked out and went through the passage that would take them to the doors of the ship. The Admiral couldn't help but notice how the energy 'bridge' was twice as long as the 5 meter wide span of the ship's gate. The walk was somewhat long, and he couldn't help but feel a bit of nausea when looking around him. It wasn't disgusting in any way, _hell_, it was the opposite. Everything about the gigantic docking port had a majestic feel to it, but the fact that everything there was so incomprehensively _huge_ was what bothered the seasoned Admiral.

The bridge extended for a good 100 meters in the direction of the gate's extension, then the bridge took a left for what may be 300 to 500 meters until it connected with the purple metal that made up the whole ship. The energy bridge itself was a kilometer above the lowest ground that gave room to the ship. If Hood calculated correctly, then it was around the same distance to the roof. The most disturbing fact was that his ship along with Keyes's barely filled the 6 by 3 kilometer long port. And it was all made of the same damn impeccable purple metalloid.

After a couple of minutes, he reached the metalloid middle ground, and looked to his right to find the Commander with his own ODST squad arriving as well. The two groups headed for one another until they closed the distance in between them enough to salute to the Admiral and the Commander. After finishing the act, Keyes immediately went to the point, "Sir, I received your orders through Fitzgibbon. I wanted to let you know they will not hesitate to blow this station to hell."

"It's reassuring to know that, Commander. In times like these, you can never be too precautious." The older man replied. Both spoke for a bit about the situation while the ODSTs were engaged in small talk, following along the lines of how big the place was. From a door on the front side of the port came an 8 foot tall Sangheili soldier with pure white armor and a helmet that resembled the double swords that they had seen in the videos. Both groups stopped what they were doing and started to fondle their weapons at the alien's appearance.

The Sangheili gave a bow and announced, "Ambassadors, I am Sangheili Ultra Eora 'Saleen. I will be the one to escort you all to the meeting room where the alliance can be forged so we may curve stomp our enemy to the ground. Follow me so that I may lead you to our Prophet and Supreme Commander."

The groups were slightly hesitant at first, but quickly resolved to follow the Sangheili 'Ultra' to the door from where she came from. The Admiral assumed it was a she after having have heard what the general male sounded like. It wasn't the most 'girly' voice in the galaxy, but it was a fitting counterpart to the thick, deep tone the males had. After going through the door, they walked a relatively short hall to a room, maybe an elevator, at its end. Hood was correct at his guess when after a few seconds of the Sangheili pressing holographic buttons with different symbols, the elevator moved downwards. After a few minutes of waiting, which was not surprising given the size of the behemoth of a space station, the doors opened to a rather large lobby.

The group started to walk through and noticed how there seemed to be many rectangular prism-like pods containing weapons of various shapes, sizes and colors. Looking around the room they also found several vehicles, some being slicker and rapid-looking while others being bulkier and massive. They also found a flurry of species walking around and carrying weapons and even some of the vehicles. They were the Sangheili, Jiralhanae and the other species they had looked at in the recordings, including a new bluish-purplish bulbous one that seemed to be caressing a data pad. Every soldier in the room stopped what they were doing to look at the group that had arrived.

Some avian looking ones that were about the same size as a normal Human looked like it was inspecting the group analytically, while some 4 to 5 foot tall ones were apparently shaking in fear. Some titanic ones that were twice the size of the ODSTs were unreadable, mainly because upon closer inspection they were clusters of worms. Other insect-like ones tilted their heads in what Hood could only guess was curiosity, while some Jiralhanae gave questioning glares at the group. The only ones that had a visible good reaction were the Sangheili who gave a bow when they caught sight of the crowd of Humans.

They were about to move along once again towards their destination until one of the 4 to 5 foot tall aliens shakily aimed a sort of energy pistol at them. It started to glow green as the energy amassed, and the ODSTs all targeted their respective weapons at the short alien and stood in front of the ambassadors to protect them. Now with the fear of dying, the furry, bipedal newcomer started hyperventilating as its hands shook more and more to the point of being almost completely unstable. After a few seconds of tension, the Ultra shouted, "Stand down, Unggoy Minor!"

"Bu-But the demons are on board and-and they're gonna kill us and-and-" The 'Unggoy' replied in a squeaky voice before it was interrupted by the Ultra's.

"I repeat, Unggoy Minor, _STAND DOWN!_" She shouted even louder.

The Minor with the inhaler on his mouth shook even more as it aimed its weapon. Afterwards, it closed its eyes and looked away, still quavering as it pointed its pistol at the group. It was probably about to fire when they all heard the fluttering of wings as they found one of the insect-like aliens that looked at them in wonder landing next to the fearful Minor. With one of his hands he grabbed the Unggoy's and pushed them down until they aimed at the floor, no longer a hazard to the group. It shook its head in a consoling way, looking directly at the frightened soldier, and took the weapon from its hand. In the bug's hands, the weapon's built up energy slowly drained until it returned to its original state. When the insect was done, it gave the weapon back to the Minor and a comforting pat on its shoulder.

The 'Unggoy' apparently realized what it had done and immediately got on its small knees, half sobbing, "I-I-I'm sorry, U-Ultra 'Saleen. It's ju-ju-just that so ma-many of us have, have DIED and I thought-I thought-"

The Sangheili looked down tiredly and gave an audible sigh. If he were to guess, Hood would say this was relatively common and not very enjoyable. Eora looked up again and spoke more calmly, "Minor Cleg, please escort Minor Tepet to the infirmary so that he may get proper remedies that will help him clear his mind."

The bug-like 'Cleg' replied in a relatively strange vibrating voice, "Of course, Officer."

He took the fear-filled Unggoy by the hand and led him to a door on the far right of the long hall. Although the tension was thick in the air, all of those in the room had the decency to return to what they were doing. Commander Keyes chose to speak up then, "Is this going to be a problem, Ultra Saleen?"

"No, ambassador, I personally assure you that it will not. You will have to forgive Tepet for his large amount of fear around a potentially dangerous group of beings." The Ultra answered. Sergeant Sanderson, quite pissed, said, "Hey, we weren't the ones that started pointing weapons at whatever we could have considered the enemy, and we definitely _did not_ start a galactic scaled war on you all!"

Again, the workers and soldiers around them stopped what they were doing giving them various different looks of guilt, anger, fear, curiosity and shame. Looking around him, Hood knew he had to speak his next words carefully, "Sergeant, don't start conflict around where everyone is trying to avoid it. That's an order."

The Sergeant fell a chill in her spine when she knew she had done something less than pleasant to the Admiral and quickly remembered the position they were in. "Sorry, sir! It won't happen again!"

"I know it won't, Sergeant. I know where this is coming from. Ultra Eora, would you kindly tell us why that 'Unggoy', if I'm correct, pointed a weapon at us in pure terror when I'm sure everyone here knows that we're trying to create an Alliance between us?"

"Of course, ambassador, but me do so along the way to the meeting chambers. It is impervious that we do not waste time when none of us can afford." The Sangheili replied curtly. Hood nodded, thinking along the same lines as the female officer.

The group began to walk forwards once again, Eora in the front as they made their way to yet another elevator, this one being a much darker shade of purple. When they entered, Hood felt a bit uneasy since were it not for the lights, he would have thought the floor was the bottom of a very deep pit. It started moving upwards, then _sideways_, and even diagonally as the strange place carried them towards their next checkpoint. Eora, now in more confined chambers asked, "Ambassador, does your kind have any beliefs towards a great deity or deities and a life beyond death?"

"More or less. About half of Humanity remains believing certain religions, the most common one called Christianity, while the other half is atheist." He responded.

"Atheist? What does the word mean?" Eora inquired curiously.

"One of the most early civilizations my kind once had were called the Ancient Greeks. They founded most of the bases of knowledge we have and use today, and among the words they created, one of them was Theo. Theo was their word for what we call 'God' now, and since those times, there were those who believed in nothing that wasn't proven. Since being religious meant to have faith, the group that did not believe in Gods or an afterlife called themselves atheists, the 'theist' part meaning believing in Gods, and the 'a' part cancelling it."

"Interesting. Now can you imagine your entire race believing in a single religion?"

Hood tried to imagine a Humanity with all their religious ideals being the same. It was very hard, but eventually he said, "Yes."

"Good. Now can you imagine that religion being so powerful that for many things to work, they must run on faith, the absolute leaders of your kind are also your highest religious leaders, and all those who believe otherwise should be burnt to ashes?"

Hood found himself imagining a Humanity that had imposed Christianity on everyone and the need to believe in Christ and Jehovah being as important as it was in the medieval times. Again, it was hard, but Hood nodded again.

"Okay. Now try imagining that society running on the pillars of faith, the religion being one of the few ties that kept _everyone_ in the same group. Now imagine watching truth with your very own eyes, truth that denies _everything_ you once believed in, the same beliefs that you and everyone you know grew up with, and that it says you were doing everything for your religion was wrong and had the opposite meaning of what you thought it actually was."

Hood imagined Humanity again. He imagined quite easily the discord and conflict such a revelation would achieve, and found it to be the one scenario that was genuinely possible because it _had_ happened before. Now he felt he was getting a firm grasp on why the alien Coalition they had fought with was now a house divided, probably to never unite again.

"For centuries, we've, more than known, _depended_ on the religion we've kept. The more intellectual and reasonable of us have been able to accept the truth without making a real fuss. However, the less educated workers and soldiers of our Covenant have been much more stubborn with the original beliefs, and although they will not turn on us, they are still having a thoroughly difficult time accepting the bitter truth as it is. There have already been several cases similar to yours and the truth was spread only few hours ago." Ultra 'Saleen continued.

"Pardon me, Ultra Eora, but did you say _a few hours ago_?" Hood asked in all seriousness.

"Yes, I doubt we haven't even reached 24 hours since the very beginning of The Great Schism, as we are now calling it."

"So I wouldn't be wrong if I were to say that this 'Great Schism' is the cause of many of your alien fleets disappearing from worlds we nearly lost and against fleets of our own where you could have won."

"Quite right, ambassador, most of those ships came to defend the Prophet of Faith's own fleet and went to join us in our new cause. The few that attacked were completely annihilated thanks to an ally of ours that picked up their Friend or Foe tag before they even dropped out of slip-space. That ally's the same one that showed us the truth of the Humans' innocence and the multiple lies and deceit in our belief."

"Who is this ally? Humanity owes him a damn big 'thank you', and I would like to see to it that he or she gets the recognition that he deserves." _Besides_, Hood thought, _I'd like to know how in the hell that 'ally' managed to do such a thing_.

"That is not for me to say, ambassador, but rest assured. When you arrive, you will meet it yourself." The Ultra said.

_It? It must be an AI_, the veteran thought. Soon, all talk ended as the strange mode of transport came to a halt and the door opened to a very small hall with a door at its end.

"We're here." Eora said.

**Author's Notes: Well, there you have it. I think we all know what's coming next chapter, and I'd like to thank 15delgizzij for his/her idea on the common foot soldiers and workers of the Covenant Separatists being more inclined to keep believing in The Great Journey. It's more than logical and it hadn't really occured to me, but it was great and helped me imagine poor Tepet's role in this chapter. Why it was an Unggoy that made the first unreasonable move and not the others I will explain in the next chapter.**

**The Almighty Afroduck's Mother,**

**All Hail**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Notes: Ladies and gentlemen, I've returned with another chapter. I'm sorry for taking longer than usual, but for the next chapter, I'll try to update a bit faster (Though I doubt I'll be able to return to updating every 5 days). The poll on the mass crossover is now over (with those in favor winning), and you will see at the end of this chapter the only 3rd story elements you will see in a very long while (and it's just a mention). Without further ado, let's begin.**

**PART 1- PROLOGUE**

**The Alliance**

The crowd of 11, including the Sangheili, stayed in place rather uncomfortably. Eora, knowing they were more than nervous for very good reasons, spoke once more, "Before you, ambassadors, is one of the two control rooms of the _Unyielding Hierophant_. There you will find the leaders of our Coalition of Separatists. Remember that it is a sign of upmost trust from their part to expose themselves like this in such a delicate situation. They want more than most, if not all, to conceive perhaps the best means of survival for all of us."

"And we will be showing them the same courtesy. However, I can't say with true honesty that I'll completely trust any of you yet even if this is going to work out." Admiral Hood responded, looking directly ahead of him. Eora nodded her head, fully understanding. "I would not be foolish enough to ask that of the race who has suffered our uncontrolled wrath. I would, however, like to tell you of who you are going to meet on the other side of these doors, so that you may be ready to discuss with them the implication of an Alliance knowing well enough their individual mindsets."

"The Minor Prophet of Faith will be the kindest and the one with the largest will to make this possible, no matter what it may cost her. She was the first to know the truth of our sins, and the one to lead the rupture of the Covenant, and the one most keen on keeping deaths to a minimum. The Minor Prophet of Malevolence is not far behind, he too strives for peace and equality and would more than willingly accept any reasonable proposals you may have.

"My kinds' leaders inside of there are Supreme Commander 'Vadam and Special Operations Commander 'Vadum. They, like my kind, are both completely honor bound and will likely be the second race holding the strongest push for our concord. They will attempt to be understanding, and being cunning as they are witty, they are perhaps going to be the ones to formulate a solution to this Alliance's issues.

"Those are four of the six major leaders we have, and the others are numbered in four to possibly seven or eight, one or two maximum leaders per species. Those species are the Kig-Yar, Unggoy, Yanme'e and Lekgolo. While I'm not sure what exactly they have in mind, being logical and pragmatic should be amongst their traits to have earned a position in that room. If they are willing to put grudges and fears aside, they may allow this accord to be."

The group of Humans had been listening intently, Hood and Keyes especially concentrated. Keyes, after knowing the Ultra was done talking, finally brought himself to ask, "You described four of _six_ major leaders. Anything you can tell us about the other two that can be useful to us?"

Eora visibly tensed up and held silence when she heard the Commander's question. Hood could tell there was something about them and her that did not sit right and felt weary of it. He saw in the corner of his eye Keyes opening his mouth to presumably press more on the matter and gave him a look that said 'drop it'. Keyes in turn closed his mouth and nodded. Eora finally found her voice again and stated, "It would be best not to keep the Prophets and Commanders waiting any longer."

"Very well." Responded the Admiral coolly. The group finally walked forward, Eora in the front, and stopped at the door glowing in a red hue. Hood assumed that was an indication that it was locked in comparison to the other purple-glowing doors that opened automatically when they passed through. Once more, a holographic sphere made an appearance to which the Ultra responded by pressing the palm of her right hand against it. After a few seconds, the door glowed a bright white before turning purple, and opened.

From outside the room, Hood could already tell it was quite large and perfectly circular. If his eyes hadn't failed him yet, then it had a good 50 meters worth of a diameter. At the exact center was yet another circle, this seeming to be a sort of holo-table which seemed to be projecting the positions of the Separatist and UNSC fleets. The thought that they may be prepared to give orders to engage their ships against his made a chill run down his spine, not wanting to think of what would happen in such a scenario. Then again, he already had a back up plan formulated that could be the best way to erase the station and various enemy ships and hopefully leave Earth unharmed.

The holo-table, other than being round, was not that different from the ones the UNSC used. It had the purple metalloid railings around it so that people could lean on it and examine what was depicted in the center. The hologram itself was a neon green, with a rather accurate representation of a map of the zone the mobile base was in and the ships surrounding it. The sight to him wasn't one of mindboggling technology or anything truly astounding, but something that he could see Humanity accomplishing within a decade or two of refinement of their own version.

The circular room had around 18 Sangheili Guards with crimson armor and glowing, orange assets, and 2 with white armor and the same type of assets. They all had long, sharp spears in their hands and looked emotionlessly and wordlessly at the center of the room, no doubt guarding the VIPs in the center.

True to her word, there were the two San'Shyuum Prophets looking at the holo-table on the opposite side of the door so that they could face the entrance. Hood immediately recognized Faith from the videos that had been sent to his fleet. To their right were the Sangheili Commanders, one of which he recognized from the video as well. To the Sangheili's right were two of the small aliens pertaining to the species that had one of its 'Minors' nearly attack them. To their right were two of the titanic aliens that they had seen when walking in the station. Unlike the soldiers, however, their armor seemed more… elegant, per say, and they looked to be made of many smaller worms instead of fewer larger ones. Even then, they were even larger than the ones they had encountered in the previous halls.

To the Prophets' left were two Jiralhanae, one of which had appeared in the video as well as the Sangheili Commander. To their left were the avian analytical aliens that had inspected them on the lower levels, and to their respective left were two _large_ versions of the insectoid species that saved them from a rather troublesome confrontation with the nervous Unggoy. All were looking, maybe even glaring at the group outside of the door. The positioning of the different species around the counter left them with a spot apparently well reserved for the Commander and the Admiral in the holo-table's side facing the door to enter. Eora immediately bowed her head and hit her fist right against her left breastplate as she said, "Hierarchs, I have brought you the Human ambassadors that will be negotiating the session you are about to open."

Most of those in the room, not counting the Sangheili guards, bowed their heads in return. Faith spoke, "Thank you, Eora. I trust you have not encountered any difficulties along your path here?"

The Ultra hesitated a little before replying, "The Unggoy Minor Tepet had his plasma pistol aimed and ready to shoot the ambassadors, and he might have done so were it not for Yanme'e Minor Cleg. I have already sent Tepet to the closest infirmary so he may get calmatives to help him relax and set his mind straight."

Hood now inside the room yet still not on the spot reserved for them could see many who were disappointed or angry with the news. The Prophets, Sangheili and Yanme'e looked exhausted while the Lekgolo and Kig-Yar shook their heads. The Unggoy in the room crossed their arms and faced the ground, looking very much ashamed when hearing such an announcement. The Jiralhanae shared two different expressions. One had a look that said just how many ways he was thinking of torturing the grunt, while the other simply sighed with a look of empathy. This time, the only other San'Shyuum they had so far encountered spoke in an old, male, raspy voice.

"You have done the right thing by sending the anxious Unggoy to the infirmary rather than have his hand cut off as others would have done. We are in times where it is imperative that we stand together without having to fear one of us stabbing us in the back." Eora nodded, smiling a little at what the Prophet had said. The Prophet of Faith took a moment to ponder the situation and respectively said, "Eora, can I assume that you've informed the ambassadors and their escorts as to who we are?"

The Sangheili moved her head a bit, tilting it from side to side. Sergeant Felicia took the liberty of stepping forward and stating, "We were informed that there were six major leaders, four of which are Supreme Commander 'Vadam, Special Operations Commander 'Vadum, and the Minor Prophets of Faith and Malevolence. We were also told that there were one or two representatives in this room for the Lekgolo, the Yanme'e, the Kig-Yar and the Unggoy."

Hood looked around to find somewhat disapproving looks on the faces of the leaders while the Jiralhanae shared once again different looks. The one with the orange eyes was scowling with his (presumably _his_) fangs sprouting out of his mouth. The other with blue eyes had his (_again_ presumably) with his jaw open in apparent shock. The strange thing was, while she did not understand alien emotions and faces very well, the blue-eyed ape's reaction looked somewhat fake.

"Is this true, _Sangheili_ Ultra?" The one the orange-eyed ape asked while putting emphasis on the word 'Sangheili'. The Sangheili straightened up and stood strong in her position, but even then he could tell that she was nervous. "Yes, Chieftain Captain Tartarus."

_A fitting name_, Hood thought. The albino-furred gorilla looked like he could rain hell on anyone he wanted to.

"Are you pissing on the Jiralhanae by mentioning every race's place BUT ours?" the brute growled, glaring daggers at the Ultra.

"Of course not, Chieftain Captain."

'Chieftain Captain Tartarus' was about to talk again, scowl deepening, when the other Jiralhanae grabbed him by the shoulder and stopped that from happening. The 'Chieftain' turned around to find the other Jiralhanae put a finger to his lips and let our a shush. Everyone in the room, without exceptions, was surprised at the jest coming from one of the high representatives of an entire race to another of the same. When Tartarus was about to say something to the other ape-looking creature, the other repeated the act.

The blue-eyed one then said, "In that case, Ultra 'Saleen, I am ordering you to accompany Tepet and get checked out by medics along the way. If you can't remember a nine-foot, white-furred, psychotic, _gorgeous_ Jiralhanae like myself and an oversized, short-tempered, shit-smelling prick with a mouth too big for his head, then perhaps it is best that your senses are tested. I, personally, would find either one rather hard to forget."

It shocked almost everyone beyond words hearing what the pale gorilla had just said, save 'Tartarus' who just groaned and sank his face in his hands. Hood turned around when he heard quite a few ODST coughing indiscreetly, thankfully none of which were Felicia or the other squad Sergeant. The six were all looking at the ground, pretending something undesirable entered their throats _just_ as the Jiralhanae finished talking. Felicia brought forward her elbow and threw it back and hit one of them, shutting the lot up. The foul-mouthed giant then looked in their direction with a knowing smile.

"Ah, I see my comedy finally goes unwasted." He then turned around to face the Chieftain, who still had his face in his hands. "I win, Tartarus. It hasn't even been five minutes and I've already cracked up more than half of them! As for my prize, I'll be having some fine cupam, one that has at least a 60% of alcohol in it. Heh, I could get used to this. Next thing I'll know, you'll be calling me a Hierarch and kneel _just_ so you can kiss my ass."

"Fuck you, Taurus. I'll be in an eternal hellhole drowning in piss before such a thing happens, and if I ever _do_ get close enough to your shithole, then I'll make sure to castrate you and do the Jiralhanae a favor." Tartarus retorted angrily. Taurus barked a couple of loud laughs, still smirking at his brother with his own eyes vivid as ever. Malevolence looked like he was fuming at the sight of the kind of attitude shown in the whole scene displayed before him, while Faith looked more than nervous about what may happen in between the two.

Tartarus looked around the room to find everyone looking at the two of them, then proceeded glare at his sibling and yell, "Damn it, Taurus! Maybe if we were among close brothers in steel could this type of behavior would be encouraged, but right now we're trying to form an alliance to ensure our victory against the bastards that used us!"

After finally regaining some coolness in him, Taurus looked at the other Chieftain Captain with a rather serene face and said, "Tartarus, you may be my brother, and I do love you, but pull your head out of your ass for a minute, would you? If we just bash our fists against the holo-table and roar something along the lines of _'We will kill EVERYONE who opposes us, then eat their hearts and shit out their souls!'_, then attempting to form an alliance would be nothing more than wasted time, I doubt they would want to ally themselves with what they may think of as savages. Chances are I'm going to go by the Humans' books as an animal who knows nothing of silence or decency, but that would be considerably better than the cold, impassive alien leaders most of us are probably perceived as in their eyes."

Hood, still not sure about what to say in yet another unexpected position, looked around him to find many taking the sailor of an ape's words very seriously. They seemed to finally let themselves go a bit rather than keep up with the humorless demeanor. The two 'Unggoy' served as an example, letting their arms hang by their sides rather than keep them crossed. Many followed them by placing themselves in more relaxed and less ominous poses.

"While I argue that such language is not appropriate for this type of meeting, Chieftain Captains, I understand and agree with the point you managed to get across, Taurus." Faith said, still in a peaceful tone. The giant with azure pools for eyes nodded quietly, and spoke now in a very serious tone, "Thank you for your service, Ultra 'Saleen. You may leave."

At the 'thank you', Hood noticed perhaps a bit of restrained shock in his escort's face, as if it were something knew. Then again, the clues around him leading him to think that there was some sort of tension between the Sangheili and the Jiralhanae could prove his thoughts true. Eora bowed her head, whispering 'Hierarchs', and turned around to make her departure.

Hood gave a look to Keyes and slightly shifted his head to indicate him to accompany him to the holo-table to begin the hopefully prosperous meeting. The Commander nodded and the two walked forwards to fill in the gap left around the purple railings. The ODST instinctively stayed behind with their weapons looking at the ground yet still in their hands should things go awry. Faith took the liberty of saying, "I assume you have many questions for us, ambassadors. Please feel free to ask whatever you may want or need to know."

"I was hoping you'd say that. I'm very interested in knowing two things before we can talk about any peace treaty or accord between us. How did you manage to know both our main language and our homeworld's location? Hell, it's only been a little over half a year, and any and all types of information essential to us in this war have been erased in the places we've lost so far. I would have asked the Ultra about the language, but I'm guessing that she would say because you have adapted some alien translators you all use to our native dialect." Hood deduced. Most were surprised at his intuition and his race's safety precautions, but not too much seeing as how even through the beginnings of this long fight, they already knew how to put up a good fight.

With a bright flash, a sort of metallic, glowing sphere appeared in the space between the two San'Shyuum. It then started speaking in a low, male, soothing voice. "I am responsible for that."

"You're an AI?" asked Hood. Maybe this was the thing responsible for the events taking place today.

"Yes, but before you ask, I was not created by any of the species in this room. I am one of the remnants an ancient race the alien Coalition the Covenant called Gods." The 'smart' AI spoke. Hood then decided to get the other doubt he had out of the way, "Then I can assume that it was you or another AI of the same class as you that showed 'the truth' to half the Covenant."

"That is partially correct, though there are very few AI like me left scattered in the galaxy, I have not encountered any so far. And as for the evidence that shows Humans to be the opposite of the 'Demons' most claim your kind is, I made sure to broadcast it to any and all Covenant planets, ships and stations. Whether they believe it or not is out of my control." The AI answered.

"Do you have a name, title or designation?" Hood inquired on.

"Mendicant Bias. I am the most advanced AI designed by the race called the Forerunners. If the 'smart' AI in the Commander's pocket truly is third-generation by your race's standards, then I would classify as an eight-generation." Hood was surprised at how advanced the three-eyed sphere was, and even more to find out it had detected Fitzgibbon's presence in the room. This surprise was shared by all those around the table, and looked expectantly at the second ambassador. Hood looked at Keyes and gave him a nod, indicating him to show the Human AI. Keyes nodded as he took a chip out of his pocket and laid it on the table.

A miniature holographic man appeared hovering over the chip's center. He looked to be old, wearing a rather fancy military navy-blue suit, his whole body seeming to be different shades of blue, ranging from cobalt to azure. The AI then spoke in an old British accent, "It seems I have been detected. May I request as to how you managed to do so when my concealment has worked the rest of the way here?"

"The hard drive you are in gave minimal signs of activity, therefore gave off the least amount of energy as possible. However, that 'little' amount of energy was more than enough for me to pinpoint and conclude that you are an AI, what type or class of AI you are, and what information you had stored in you."

The Admiral may as well have felt a freezing cascade drop on his back. Right now, there was one thing he needed to know. "Then you know about our makeshift protocol."

"I am aware of your contingency plan, though I have not disrupted any signals or communications between your AI Fitzgibbon, the_ Hannibal _and the_ Pillar of Autumn_. Truthfully, I doubt anything negative of true importance may sprout from this, and I calculate a 97.6% chance that things will go as planned."

Hood looked at the floating chunk of metal knowing it spoke the truth. He could tell it didn't run on faith and had no intentions of lying. A bigger part of him was relieved not only that his backup plan could still be put to use, but rather that an AI capable of measuring well chances and probabilities had already calculated that the alliance would be almost completely valid. He did not know what it was about the AI that made him feel like it was something more than trustworthy, but he had a feeling he would find out in this session.

"Now that that matter is settled, Mendicant Bias, I would like to know how you know our homeworld's location and our language. Afterwards, I'd also be interested in seeing this 'truth' that convinced billions to separate from such a powerful Hegemony and a good half of them attempt to form an alliance with us."

"The three have the same answer, however, this answer is long and complex. It, in fact, explains why there is little to no evidence of the Homo Sapiens or any of its genetic cousins before an estimated 112.54 hundred thousand years ago."

"Fair enough. Fitzgibbon, make sure you get everything. "

"Yes, sir."

What happened next was a half hour of Mendicant Bias explaining a brief version of the known history of the Ancient Humans and the two large wars they fought in those times. The AI showed them how an 'unknown' enemy, a product of the cruel Precursors, crippled the Ancient Humans, causing them to lose an unintentional war against the Forerunners. It showed how after the Forerunners erased all evidence of the empire Ancient Humanity once had when they won the war and later fought the flood, they regretted the punishment they gave to said civilization and shunned themselves to extinction after activating the Halo Array. Mendicant Bias made sure not to leave out how it was partly responsible for guiding the Sentinels and Reseeding Machines to each homeworld throughout the whole galaxy and how Humanity now had the title of Inheritors and Reclaimers.

"This is the evidence that was shown to the Covenant. One of the major reasons you have the support of dozens of billions of soldiers coming from several diverse species. Now you know how I am aware of your homeworld's location and after learning the previous languages used by the Ancient Humans, finding a pattern between that and the dialect you use now was simple. This allowed for all those with translator implants to be able to speak and understand your language."

No one in the room talked for what felt like an eternity to Hood. The fact that Humanity may have once been one of the strongest galactic powers in the _entire_ Milky Way was practically unbelievable to him. Hell, he was still shocked that every system in the galaxy were devoid of life at one point. He looked at Fitzgibbon and asked, "Did you get everything?"

"I'm already sending it to HIGHCOM."

"Good. They'll want to know everything about it."

"I trust you now understand our motives in helping your kind?" asked Faith from the opposite side of the holo-table.

"Yes. Now that I have those questions out of the way, I'd like to know how common the incident that happened in the lower levels of this station really is within each species in relation to us Humans." Hood continued.

"I was sure you would want to know of that. Many of our lower ranked soldiers had a firm belief in-"

"Ultra Eora filled us in about how many of the less cultured parts of your species are taking the truth very hard. If we're going to work together, I need to know that my men will not have their lives endangered by their own companions."

"I am glad that you are aware of our rather 'delicate' situation, it saves us all quite some valuable time. As for how the species individually are going to view you, I am sure that our own leaders can brief you what you will need to know. Speaking for my kind, the San'Shyuum, I can guarantee you that we are the least likely to betray you in the battlefield. Mainly, this is because almost all of us accepted the innocence of your race thanks to the evidence and Malevolence's and my own word. Besides that, we number in 21 million, and only 10 million are on our side. Rest assured, while my kind is not a race created for groundside fighting, we are partially responsible for the commercialization of shielding units in the Sangheili, who before us only had them for their highest ranks. I am sure that we could find suitable tech experts, engineers and scientists that may help you if you want any type of automations that we have while you don't, among other types of technologies."

Hearing Faith's words was music to the Admiral's ears. The thought of personal shielding units for his troopers, maybe especially advanced ones for the already legendary SPARTANs, already took off a lot of weight off of his shoulders. It was then that one of the two Sangheili, the one in the video, started to speak.

"The Sangheili may be shocked to hear the recent news of the light that was shed on the truth, but they will be more than willing to serve and aid your kind, no matter the ranks. We are an honor-bound race, and the crimes we have done against yours is nothing short of disgraceful to us. We will do everything in our power to see that justice is done." The reptilian alien spoke honorably and shamefully.

The flaming-eyed Taurus then chose to speak next, "Truthfully, the Jiralhanae are mainly with us because of my brother, several other Chieftain Captains, the Prophets of Faith and Malevolence and myself. They can lead well and wage war remarkably, but fighting under the command of another species is hardly common. Right now, the vast majority of our race wants nothing more than the taste of vengeance against the Prophets that manipulated us for their own needs. Because of that, we are willing to work alongside all other races, or at least most of us are. Perhaps a squad of your kind can lead a platoon of our Jiralhanae if they manage to prove their strength to the platoon."

Hood nodded at that, and could not help but feel that the excluded race the Chieftain hinted at were the Sangheili. The more he listened, the harder the proof became. His trail of thoughts came to an end as one of the 'Lekgolo' started to speak what sounded like hundreds of voices clustered into one, "We Lekgolo are well aware of the truth, as hard as it may be to fully understand it. Part of the eggs we lay contain the memories of our direct procreators and others of our distant procreators. It is not easy for us to allow ourselves to completely accept reality as it is for this reason. What I can say is though there may be times where several different Mgalekgolo are all in doubt and lost in a trance of their thoughts, they will not turn on you."

"As for our Yanme'e, they are among the least likely to attack you, and probably part of one of the species most open-minded about working with, over, and even under Humanity. While other species have very individual mindsets save for the unique case of the Lekgolo, the Soldiers I birthed and their Worker offspring are undoubtedly loyal to me and the King. This is because all Yanme'e that descend from us have a special telepathic connection to us. This is what allows our species to work under a great hive-mind. The idea is complex, because while we are all born with a purpose and we can be categorized into Kings and Queens, Soldiers, and Workers of different variants, we all maintain individuality. Every Soldier has a name, a distinct genetic code and a different face, as do the children they bear among each other. The one thing they all have in common is the named telepathic relation all of them have with their King and Queen. When they hear our voices, they heed and listen. They have irreplaceable loyalty to us, so you can be sure that should we say the words 'follow the Humans into battle and treat them as equals', they will undoubtedly fight and, should they need to, die alongside you. And should this Alliance be successful, you can count on us to make them place loyalty on you." Spoke the large insectoid, probably Queen Yanme'e. Having the trust and cooperation of a race naturally numerous and capable of flight gave a major boost of confidence in the Admiral.

Next came one the Unggoy with golden armor. Even in its squeaky voice, Hood could tell that the furry alien was completely serious and in no irresponsible manner. "The Unggoy are a… _delicate_ subject. Not too long ago, we lead a rebellion against the Covenant because they used us as cannon fodder, subjects for target practice, and other less than profitable spots. It's only recently we've gained the right to be trained as true soldiers, and even more recently being capable of ascending to the new position of a Commander. Our kind's mindset used to be 'when in doubt, flee' because of our lack of combat training and our nonexistent courage. The fact that an Unggoy soldier nearly attacked an armed group of soldiers, nine of which were _very_ well armed is almost as good of news as it is terrible. In all truth, my kind is still in a transition state between being cowardly and good soldiers, and with all the tension it can cause, the recent change of views hardly help them. I will do my best to personally convince as many Unggoy soldiers of the truth as I can, but in the meantime, I strongly advice you not to put your full trust in my kind as of yet."

"I understand." Replied Hood. If what the Commander said was genuine, he had to give credit to the Unggoy who managed to rebel against a state of hellish slavery, and would have to wait to truly judge the race before making premature conclusions. _At least he has the decency to tell the truth_, the man thought. He turned to the last of the species to speak, awaiting a report as to how their race and Humanity could collaborate or nor.

One of the well armored, avian looking aliens straightened up to look at him before saying in a probably feminine voice, "Us Kig-Yar are on a middle ground with your race. Though we are, or were, part of the Covenant, we were so mainly because of the economic gains. The truth of the manner is that very few of us are in shock of the evidence that was shown to the Covenant and your kind. We were the only species that was a part of the Covenant yet did not share its beliefs and religion. Our race, in general, could be described as pragmatic. We often judge something by its gains and its losses to deem it worth using or not. The Kig-Yar with me view your race just as any of the others that you can find in this room. They will not judge a soldier until they see him or her fight in the battlefield, and until they are through with judging said soldier, they will deem him or her good enough to fight with or even follow, or bad enough to avoid and maybe disobey. If your soldiers are everything the reports claim them to be, it is likely that the Kig-Yar will find you to be more than a good chance of survival and follow your Humans into battle."

Hood thought about how this would change everything in the battlefield. Not counting the San'Shyuum, he had on one hand there was a very skilled, honor-bound race above most others that was completely willing to cooperate with them, yet their brutish counterpart, also as powerful, could be described as a general loose cannon. Another was the insectoid race which promised the same as the Sangheili, which gave comfort to Hood, yet he feared that the species of clusters of worms would not be able to do their part and could risk operations. Then there was a race practically just emancipated that was learning how to behave like a soldier yet still distrustful of Humans, while the other avian race was far more calculative and logically more trustworthy. In the end, it came down to two fully cooperative races, two races that may or may not be reliable, and two races that, depending on the situation, could aid them or shoot them. Yet none of them were declared enemies against Humanity, so at least that went well enough.

Yet, despite all that, he also had the support of the highly cultured San'Shyuum, as rare as they were, and if the proof shown by Mendicant Bias was true, then the AI would hold its loyalty to Humans above all. So far he was considering just how well this had all gone, having expected to blow a hole in the alien fleet's defenses with the destruction of his and Keyes's ships. The Admiral then said, "Well, these are much better news than expected, so I don't feel like I can complain. Right now, we should be returning to our ships to report to our High Command and explain the situation to them. Right now we've discussed if the idea of an Alliance is even feasible, and it's probably relieving to us all that it is. We could make a second, more formal and less confrontational assembly, in which case we could bring more ambassadors as well as you could to discuss the further details on how this is going to work. That meeting will have to be _very_ quick, though. The odds are going to be even between both sides with this makeshift coalition, but we can't lose time that our common enemy can use to pummel our strongholds. As soon as the assembly is over, we will need to ready for war and find the strength we will need to fight the Covenant."

"I agree", said Tartarus. "I know my uncle well enough that he can raise hell in almost _any_ territory, no matter the odds. Giving him more time is killing our own warriors."

"Then we shall make haste and be done with it. Gods know I want to endure and outlive this coming war." The Prophet of Malevolence continued.

"It is settled then. Send us a message as soon as you've come up with the date of this next session, we will have the courtesy to host it here again." The Spec-Ops Commander declared.

Hood nodded and saw Faith make a gesture to some of the Sangheili Guards around the room. They bowed their heads with their long spears still facing the ceiling, and soon all walked towards the group of visitors, with one of the ones in white armor saying, "Come, Humans. We shall escort you to your ships and make sure no other 'incidents' happen along the way."

"Very well." Replied the Admiral. Soon, they got on the atypical elevator and then walked back through the lengthy trek they had made to arrive to the meeting room. It was nearing the normal elevator that would take them to the docks the _Hannibal_ and the _Pillar of Autumn_ were in that they encountered an Unggoy, the same Unggoy that had nearly shot them before talking to their previous escort, Ultra Eora 'Saleen. Both were in somewhat relaxed stances, not looking as tense as the last time they had been seen together. The two looked at one another when they caught sight of the large group, with the Unggoy turning to the Sangheili as if looking for an answer. The Ultra nodded and the two began to walk towards the crowd of more than thirty. Soon, all came to a stop as the two stood before the ambassadors and their countless escorts. The Ultra bowed her head and said, "Sangheili Honor Guards, brothers and sisters in steel, I ask you for the favor of letting Unggoy Minor Tepet say a few words of apology he has been eager to say in his deep regret for causing the unnecessary confrontation from before."

The crimson armored Sangheili turned to their officers to wait for their word. The two looked at one another and gave a nod as they turned to the grunt, "You are allowed to repent for your actions done before, Unggoy Tepet. But be brief, we are not to waste time we could use for preparations for the war that is to come."

The Unggoy nodded nervously and walked up to the group, approaching more closely the Humans yet still keeping his distance. He looked to the ground and said in his high-pitched voice, "I'm sorry for the trouble I caused, ambassadors. I was nervous when I saw you aboard the ship and I wasn't sure about what to do, and I felt like-"

"You're from the species that rebelled recently, right?" asked the ODST Sergeant that was not Felicia. The Unggoy was completely thrown off by this question and barely stammered a 'yes'.

What happened next shocked everyone. The Sergeant walked forward up until he was in front of the Minor and, rather than point his shotgun at him, he held out his right hand to shake the soldier's. "Then you deserve twice the respect most give you. Frankly, you're not that tall or buff at least in comparison to the slick gators and the hairy gorillas that probably fought against you. Hell, to fight against _five_ well armed and well trained species for your rights takes major balls to do. That in my book deserves at the very least a shake of the hands."

Everyone was shocked at what the trooper had just said, the most probably being Tepet himself. Nervously, he gave his large, furry hand to the Human who took it in a firm grasp and shook it. He nodded his head at the grunt and said, "Name's Sergeant Avery Jr. Johnson. Hope I see you in the battlefield one of these days to see just how good you are with that green pistol of yours. We could raise hell as a team. What do you say?"

"I, uh, think it would be… good?" The grunt stuttered nervously.

"Great! See you groundside, soldier! Remember to show the enemy the balls you proved you had today!" The man shouted as he let go of the hand. He turned his back on the grunt and returned to his place in the group, everyone looking at him. "What? You know it's true."

"Well, as interesting as that was, Sergeant, we need to get going and report to HIGHCOM, no point in staying here any longer." Keyes remarked. The group nodded at that and then carried on, some saying goodbyes to the Ultra and the Minor. It did not take long to find the energy bridges again and for the Sangheili Guards, Commander Keyes, Admiral Hood and their respective ODST squads to part ways.

Everyone in the bridge was relieved to see the Admiral return to perfectly unharmed to his position in command, and even more so to learn that they would be returning to the base for another meeting to confirm the alliance. Soon, they plotted a course to Sydney, Australia, where the Security Committee's bunker was located at. Hood already had good news and several plans for what was going to come ahead of them, and he felt that the previously unknown enemy that was superior in every way to them was no longer a threat to Humanity's survival, yet an enemy that could be undertaken through the united force of the Alliance that could be formed. Today rose a new dawn, one filled with hope and light to shine a path that would lead them all to safety.

**10:41 – September 19****th****, 2525 – Undisclosed Location**

Admiral Margaret Orlenda Parangosky sat in her office, looking at the screen as she thought of the alien fleet that had closed in over couldn't feel anything but distrust of the species that had ravaged several UNSC colonies over the past couple of months, and could only think of the severe consequences that would bring allying themselves with aliens that already knew far too much about Humanity for her own comfort. Of course, it was always Admiral Hood that managed to convince Fleet Admiral Ward to think the way he did.

She sighed, thinking of the numerous ways this would backfire on them all and probably end Humanity for good. She remembered for a while when she thought the Insurrectionists were a real threat. The Admiral could only chuckle at the thought of comparing a group of pissed off extremist humans to a large, savage, extremist alien coalition. She looked at the screen and read the reports sent to her by one of her most talented agents.

_Admiral, missions have been successful. With the UNSC caught up with the war, they have not been able to notice the disappearance of several hundreds of thousands of colonists from our part. A couple of hundred thousand have had their memories tempered with and they will not remember the UNSC and will think the planet they will be sent to is their home planet. They already have the name of their government, troops, and disbanded labeled._

_A calculated 3 million have been mutated heavily to barely resemble Humans anymore and make it their one goal to exterminate any and all Humans they can find. They are now genetically modified to share a hive-mind mindset that would allow coordination of some level, yet still very basic. Reproduction with the females, all of which are extraordinarily strong and dangerous, save the Queen, would multiply their numbers thanks to their now high birth rate. Creatures classes designated Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Theta, Iota, Kappa, Lambda and Mu have been finished and will be deployed to the planet. The heavily mutated humans, being as strong as they are, will manage to tame them._

_ Planet designated Sigma-Epsilon-Rho-Alpha has been prepared. Establishments and locations for the two groups have been made adequately and with technology dating a couple of centuries back have been placed correctly. Its location remains in the borders of the Orion Arm, far away from both UNSC and Covenant ships. 'The Project' is now ready to begin._

She knew that if word ever got out that she was the creator of this project, there was no denying she would be sentenced to death. _Hell_, she might even be tortured for making a program which could make Dr. Halsey's own look angelic. But in all truth, she didn't give a shit of what she was thought of. She didn't even care that she had to sacrifice her own humanity and be labeled as a monster if it meant the survival of her own species. She didn't expect this to create some sort of massive super weapon that would hold the answer to all her problems, but studying the development of a case similar to hers and Humanity's could lead to the answer on how to win a war where all odds were against them. She got up to grab a bottle of vodka from the counter in her office and pour herself a glass. She sat down again to look at the screen as she drank a bit from her drink. The alcohol smoothened her nerves a bit and with a couple of deep breaths, she wrote back to her ONI agent: _Acknowledged. Begin Project Sera._

**Author's Notes: Well, now you understand about every race's stance on Humanity, so now that that's gotten out of the way, I can finish this Prologue and go to the Great War next. Now you know about how the Gears came to be (or are going to be). In other words, Parangosky just killed a million Humans by turning them into the Locust husks, and hundreds of thousands through a war SHE created. And she really doesn't give a shit. I'll leave you guys to ponder just how cruel that bitch really is.**

**Apart from that, I won't be updating for a while because for the next week and a half I'm going to be filled to the brim with evaluations of all kinds, including more than 5 tests, a couple of projects and other unearthly shit. In other words, for the next week and a half I'm going to have a second asshole drilled above the original so I can get fucked both ways. Yes, it's that bad. It's bad enough that I won't be able to write throughout that whole time so I'm giving you the fair warning. Thankfully, though, after that comes easy time and vacations, so I'll have a lot of time to write. Well, if I'm not dead within two weeks, I'll have survived more than Bear-Fucking-Grylls.**

******Copyrights: 343 Industries owns Halo, Bioware owns Mass Effect, Epic Games owns Gears of War**

******The Almighty Afroduck,**

******All Hail**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Notes: Hello everyone! I'm alive and still writing (don't worry, I'm not planning on abandoning you guys), and I'd like to say I'm really sorry for not updating sooner. Normally, I wouldn't apologize for taking this long to post a chapter because I believe in taking my time and putting real quality into the chapter, but like all shitty politians, I gave you a false promise. I can honestly say that this vacation has been A LOT busier than my school life even was, so believe me, it was pretty unexpected for me too.**

**Now, unto some questions about the mass-crossover, I realized I wasn't really specific about the details of it, and I'd like to put here some of the parameters I've created: **

**N#1- I've changed my mind, Twi'leks will be the ONLY and LAST humalien race that there will be (I'm keeping humalien races just to Asari and Twi'lek); **

**N****#2- There will be NO separate Human governments or separate H********uman groups that don't come from the UNSC (like Coalition of Ordered Governments was created by Parangosky, and will probably be the only other Human government) because it's too complicated and would have WAY too many holes in the plotline. However, certain elements from some other games MAY be added if they're good enough and don't overpower Humanity too much (because they will be powerful enough as they are). **

******N****#3- I'd like for AS MANY races (not humalien) to be added to this fanfic. I need the numbers, and I will be making the Milky Way in this story probably around twice to thrice as large as it really is to house them all. So please send me summaries of several different species, a sort of bio of them, their culture and technology. Once again, this all has its reason of being, and I may change the origins of some species (and I will narrate my version) to avoid plot holes.**

**********Now that that's out there, I'm going to say that most, if not all, chapters will be like this. Each chapter will have a timeskip, because I will only write about important battles and events (which will still be many). This Part will be MUCH longer than the Prologue, I will try to make many twists and turns, and the war will continue up until the ending of Halo 4. However, you should all know I won't be following the original Halo plotline because it would be WAY too complicated and the circumstances are WAY too different. Now, ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, here is the first chapter of the second Part of the many that there will be in this story.**

**PART 2- THE GREAT WAR**

**Rough Starts**

**September 19****th****, 2525:** The Covenant Separatists held the second meeting that would dictate the future of the 'Alliance' that would be formed. Among the ambassadors sent were Admiral Hood and Commander Keyes once again due to knowing the station better than the others and having more experience with the leaders of the Separatists. The meeting was a success, ending with several Separatist ships, all of which hold several intelligent San'Shyuum, going into slip-space to go to Earth to help with research projects requested by the ambassadors, including shielding units among soldiers and ships, and the improvement of UNSC slip-space drives with the construction of new, adaptable plasma reactors.

**September 20****th****, 2525:** The formation of the 'Alliance' was broadcasted on every channel and radio throughout UNSC territory, stating that the Separatists wanted to aid them and would mark their armors to separate themselves from the Covenant. Humans everywhere took this with varying reception, some welcoming the aid while others wanted them killed. Though the civilian audience held mixed feelings, soldiers were ordered to fight alongside the Separatists, no matter the views. It has also been settled that although the Separatists hold many important locations and strategic stations and planets, the Covenant hold all homeworlds.

**September 23****rd****, 2525:** OPERATION: TAKE BACK HARVEST began with the 'Alliance' sending a fleet to the Epsilon Indi System. Through several losses, the new Alliance armada was able to defeat the Covenant's glassing fleet, though at a costly price. The fleet of 170 ships of all sizes was downed to 103, while the enemy fleet of 120 was destroyed. Incursions planned by the surviving commanders began, locating all points where there were still high concentrations of Covenant forces and sending troops to said locations.

**September 29****th****, 2525:** Through an entire week of fighting, OPERATION: TAKE BACK HARVEST was a major success. According to Separatist leaders, they saved Harvest just barely from being glassed, stating that the glassing fleet had arrived too recently to do anything before it was attacked. The operation was broadcasted to all frequencies for all members of the species pertaining to the Alliance to hear. Almost immediately this was received with great reception from Humanity when the people heard of the news.

**October 14****th****, 2525:** In the midst of several operations similar to TAKE BACK HARVEST, many Separatist colonies were assaulted, some having been able to fend off the Covenant while others were glassed. Purely human colony operations were postponed as the Separatists sent some of the ships placed to be on the offensive to the planets attacked, stalling any near future missions planned to take back Human colonies. The UNSC offered several ships as a gesture of gratitude for the urgent help given by the Separatists, all of which were accepted.

**October 18****th****, 2525:** Tensions raise as a platoon of Jiralhanae Separatists kill a Human-Sangheili squad for insubordination when the plan of attack on Covenant Sangheili colony 'Sheraan' involved the murder of civilians through the burning of several villages. The crude tactic to draw out the hidden Covenant soldiers proved effective, but when the squad consisting of both Humans and Sangheili strongly opposed this method, they were executed for insubordination. The platoon is now to be sent to a Court Martial to be judged for their actions aboard the colony Sheraan. It has become an uncomforting fact that while this case is so far the only truly aggressive report within the 'Alliance', there have been multiple in which Unggoy, Kig-Yar, Jiralhanae and Mgalekgolo are responsible for insubordination and treason. This is without counting the frequent attempts by several UNSC troopers to shoot Separatist soldiers in the back despite the 'Alliance'.

**October 21****st****, 2525:** It is now public that the 'Alliance' will now be officially going by the temporary name 'the Separatist Alliance' to avoid further confusion on the matter. SA leaders have been sentencing troopers throughout the Alliance to varying punishments, some for insubordination and lack of ability to fight in the battle field. These cases more commonly shared by the Kig-Yar, Mgalekgolo and Unggoy have been given the sentence of small time in prison to give as a consequence for the named situations. On some cases, however, the soldiers are sent to infirmaries for whenever they are suffering from mental conditions due to the recent events and are later sent to the battle field as soon as they're ready to fight again.

Though they are the rarest cases so far, treason is sentenced with death. Though rare, they are distributed relatively even within all species. Sangheili have had several less than peaceful confrontations with Jiralhanae; Mgalekgolo have been reported to go berserk in denial of the truth while in deep trances and are often stopped by the Yanme'e, though the latter go as far as killing any other Mgalekgolo in the area; the Kig-Yar and the Unggoy have been noted that they already shared grudges since before the Great Schism; and there have been records where Humans are attacked by a group of aliens or vice-versa.

**October 28****th****, 2525: **SA Leaders are now announcing the death penalty for treason, insubordination or other types of felonies that endanger the new Alliance or the chances of winning the war. The new, strict policy enforced upon all soldiers has had an immediate drop in reports less than wanted by the high authorities. Some groups will work begrudgingly together, yet the Leaders' strong hand has stopped any more mayhem from happening in between the troops. Separatists now wear the 'Mark of Shame' with the color of steel on all their armors with the new meaning of Honor to prevent further confusion in battle for Humans. This is also a way for the Separatists to reject the teachings of the Covenant and to no longer hold faith in the old coalition.

**November 12****th****, 2525:** The 33 SPARTANs in optimal conditions are sent aboard the UNSC _Commonwealth_ to head to Chi Ceti IV to receive their new MJOLNIR Mark IV Power Armor. The Commonwealth will be accompanied by Separatist ship, the DDS-Class Carrier _Transcendent Essence_. Though not as large as other Covenant ships, having 1.45 kilometers in length, the _Transcendent Essence_ is still a heavy warship equipped with a slip-space drive, more than enough to fulfill its duty as an escort. The other 42 unsuccessful SPARTANs are sent to ONI facilities to perform advanced treatments on them to see if they can be brought on the field like the 33 successful ones with the new medical data provided by the Separatists. Doctor Halsey has been appointed to be at the head of this.

**06:33 – November 27****th****, 2525 – UNSC Commonwealth**

He looked through his visor at his opponent. He silently breathed from exhaustion at the spar against his bigger rival. Both in defensive battle stances circled around each other in the ring designated just for them to train. In a second, both charged, sending well placed punches and kicks to whatever hole in the other's defense could be found. A strong punch from both opponents and they were back in their previous position. Ever more tired, John found it in himself to charge one more time at Samuel. The larger SPARTAN threw the strongest jab he could throw, which John proceeded to dodge. John quickly grabbed the fist as soon as it finished its trajectory, ran behind Samuel, bringing his arm with him, and in a better position to strike, finished the near 8 foot tall Super Soldier with a roundhouse kick to the back of his head. Samuel succumbed to the unconsciousness overwhelming him and fell to the floor with an echoing thud. John, still tired from the hour-long fighting session with his closest friend, used his remaining energy to walk over to the awakening SPARTAN and offer his hand, which was gratefully accepted.

"Damn, it. You always get me near the end." The large Spartan mustered as he got up. Now both on their feet, they moved out of the ring to head where the other Spartans were training as well, specifically where Kelly was. On the way, John chuckled, "Your jabs get too slow when you're under enough strain."

"Ok, _now_ you're sounding like Kelly." Both laughed a bit, nearing the ring their friend was on fighting Linda. Like John predicted, she was giving lightning-quick jabs to the sniper, who managed to block them all with the occasional counter. It was the marksman's fighting style to be on the defensive at most times until her opponent would leave a hole in his or her defense and then use it to her advantage. Linda was among those that could end a fight with just one move if given the chance. Although all Spartans were capable of finishing their rivals with a single blow, Linda was an expert in the art. John deduced that where she mainly avoided close quarter combat weapons to instead use her sniper rifle, she compensated with her skills in powerful death blows.

Coming closer to the spar ring, John could see that although Kelly would not let up, she was very much exhausted. Linda looked like she had taken quite a beating yet was still faring better than the rapid Super Soldier. Of course, to the eyes of anyone else, it would have looked more like a never ending battle between two gargantuan robots. Only Spartans could see through the MJOLNIR Armor and into the soldier. Now just outside of the ring, the two brother-like comrades watched the fight continue on, as the hare kept throwing punches faster than a machine gun could fire.

Linda finally grabbed Kelly's right leg in the middle of a kick and used her strength to hit Kelly's Mark IV Helmet with her right fist. Kelly was sent to the ground on all fours, doing everything in her power not to let the rest of her body touch the floor. She looked up to see her two closest friends watching her, no doubt waiting for her to finish so that they could talk. She knew Linda aimed a kick at the back of her head to end the everlasting match and figured she would play her luck to give it one last try. Kelly rolled and dodged Linda's closing foot and jumped to deliver an uppercut using the energy she had left with the risk of being completely vulnerable to any other attacks from the redhead. Her fortune had smiled on her, because her punch hit Linda directly in the jaw and left her sprawling on the floor.

It didn't take longer than a few seconds for Linda to get up again and stretch her hand to the victor. Kelly promptly took it, laughing when she heard, "You were lucky this time, Kelly. Next time it won't turn out so well without John here to fuel it for you."

"Like I needed it, Linda. I had you from the beginning." John and Sam knew that, although they could not see it, both of their friends were smirking under their visors. This was, after all, one of the few times they could see Kelly cracking jokes without being in a near suicidal mission. In the end, no SPARTAN felt discomfort when around only other Spartans.

"I'll have an easier time believing that Doctor Halsey has an IQ below average than _that_." Linda replied. The two women looked to see the other two Super Soldiers approaching them. With that, the redhead looked at her rival and said, "Well, I'll leave you three to it. 'Till next time, Kelly."

"See you around, Linda." The hare replied. With that, Linda left the ring to head over where Frederic and Kurt were fighting at the moment. Kelly turned to the other two and gave them the 'SPARTAN smile', a gesture that her friends returned. With subtle agreement, the three walked over to the other part of the SPARTAN training quarters, the target practice area.

The three found Serin-019 in her MJOLNIR practicing with the BR85HB SR 'Battle Rifle'. They could tell something had her nerves strained as she shot at whatever target she could find as many times as possible. For a soldier as pragmatic as her, that was something far beyond usual. As they approached her, it was Sam who asked, "Something on your mind, Serin?"

"John, Kelly, Sam." She greeted as she turned around. Though she was very reserved, even by SPARTAN standards, she was nonetheless one of their own and she cared deeply for them. She then asked, "Is it that obvious?"

"Not really, but it's enough to notice." John replied. Serin looked back to find the target practice boards, all of different Covenant species, with several coal-black bullet marks in several vital positions in each. She looked back at them and sighed, "I don't trust them."

The three knew exactly who she was talking about. Though they weren't as extremist as the marines that had committed treason, the Spartans were distrustful of their new allies, even with the current events taking place recently. John said, "I don't either, Serin, at least not completely yet. They have, though, helped us take back Harvest amongst other lost colonies."

"Maybe, but is it enough to trust them with the _others_? I mean, how do we know that they aren't trying to poison them?" She retorted with a slight amount of edge in her voice. The three knew where this was coming from because it was a concern that all the 33 Super Soldiers aboard the _Commonwealth_ shared. It was then that someone else with a deep, Hungarian accent intervened in the conversation, "We don't, but it's reassuring to know that Doctor Halsey herself is studying the procedures in depth to make sure nothing happens to the other Spartans, don't you think?"

The four looked at Jorge walking up to them in his green MJOLNIR armor, carrying his helmet under his left arm while in his right hand he held his trademark M247H 'Heavy Machine Gun'. Kelly then looked at her comrade and said reassuringly, "Jorge is right. I doubt she would allow so much as one syringe to touch them if she didn't know exactly what it was and what effects it may have."

Serin looked at them and nodded a bit. The four could tell, even past her helmet, that she wasn't fully convinced yet was not as paranoid either. Sam looked at the other gargantuan soldier and inquired, "What are your thoughts about this, Jorge?"

"Well, Sam, I can't say for sure. We could definitely use the extra muscle they're bringing to the battlefield, and shielding units could make fights a hell of a lot easier. I'd like to give this Alliance some time to develop so that I can fully judge it once I know just how well it could work." The titan of a man replied. Before any more could be said, the alarms blared. All the Spartans looked at the ceiling to find the red emergency lights flaring. They were being attacked.

In a moment's notice, all Spartans dropped what they were doing and rushed to the bridge, where the Captain would be waiting to give them orders. Within a few minutes, all Spartans arrived at the bridge of the ship and saluted Captain Arnold Wallace. He raised his hand at the sight before him, his only hand, as a sign that they could stop.

"As you may have already guessed, Spartans, we are being assaulted right now by the Covenant. How they found us, I don't know, but what I do know is that we have been attacked by three Covie Frigates. Thankfully, the _Transcendent Essence_ already took care of one of them, but its having a hard time with the second. The third is raining hell on us. I've already read several reports on hull breaches, and our engineers calculate that twenty to thirty minutes more of this engagement and the _Commonwealth_ will be destroyed along with all of its crew. Already most of our ship's weapons have been rendered inoperable, so the only solution left is a boarding the ship and destroying their fusion generator with ANVIL-II 'Air-to-Surface' Missiles. I doubt that any other soldier in this ship could get the job in time, which is why you all will be splitting into several teams to board the ship. Only one is necessary, so when the first team reaches the ship, they must send a signal to the others to fall back. Understood?" The Captain explained.

"Yes, sir!" All the soldiers replied. Fred then asked, "Sir, how will we board the ship?"

"Before our MAC gun was crippled, we managed to puncture a hole in the Frigate. That will be your pilots' target. Now go, Spartans, and show those bastards what Humanity is capable of!" The Captain shouted.

Before they could reply, one of the communications personnel shouted, "Sir, we've got a message coming from the _Transcendent Essence_!"

"Patch them through," The Captain replied. A holographic screen appeared with a pink-violet armored Sangheili sitting on an Anti-Gravity Throne, presumably the Commander of the ship. "Captain Wallace, pardon my intrusion, but I could not help but overhear your plan of attack upon the Frigate you are currently engaging. I was about to contact you, but I thought it best to allow you to finish reciting your strategy. I offer my personal assistance to your Spartans, for I know Covenant Ships very well and could lead your squad through the quickest routes."

"While I appreciate the offer, Field Marshal 'Lortell, why you? Why not order any other of your crew with the same knowledge?" The Captain inquired.

"Captain, all Sangheili are soldiers, and we all know our roles in battle and our purpose in the fields. What separates myself with my warriors is my experience, which is vaster than theirs by far. In these types of operations, it is best to keep the squad with few extraordinarily skilled soldiers, for having too many would lose the elements of stealth and surprise at hand. Anyone other than myself that I could assign for this task would undoubtedly slow down your soldiers and could possibly even die. I can guarantee that I will be no burden to your Spartans." The seasoned Shipmaster replied.

Looking at his options, Captain Wallace knew this to be the best course of actions and replied quickly, "Very well then, Commander. If you've heard our plan all the way through, then I can safely assume you know of the hole on the Frigate, right?"

"That is correct, Captain. My warriors are already preparing a Banshee equipped with active camouflage for me so that I may arrive with little to no inconveniences." The Sangheili replied.

"Perfect, we'll engage effective immediately." The Captain said. He turned to his own batch of soldiers and ordered, "Get it done, soldiers! This is a mission you cannot afford to lose."

"Sir!" They all saluted before heading to the lift. As the elevator went down, the group of Super Soldiers separated into eleven teams of three, one of which consisted of John, Kelly and Sam.

The doors opened to the hangar where several Pelicans were already warming up for flight. The trios went to their separate ways and boarded the agile spacecrafts. The large bay decompressed as all oxygen left that part of the ship with the doors opening to the blackness of space. All Pelicans flew towards the hole in the Frigate attacking the _Commonwealth_.

It wasn't long before they engaged several Seraphs and Banshees protecting the gap in the ship's defense. Most of the enemy crafts were destroyed, but one Banshee managed to land a hit on one of the Pelicans, the one holding Arthur, Solomon and Cassandra. Everyone's blood chilled as the fuel rod hit its mark perfectly in the middle of the Pelican. Through the windows, the SPARTANs saw the Banshee charging again to aim for the kill. But just as it was about to fire, it was destroyed ironically by another fuel rod. Another Banshee appeared as it deactivated its invisibility unit, it standing out for its large, steel-colored Mark of Honor. Immediately identified as a friendly, the Pelican shot was ordered to return to the _Commonwealth_ for having sustained too much damage.

The rest did not have too many hassles the rest of the way thanks to the firepower of the remaining ten Pelicans plus the stealthy Banshee's diligence. They were approaching the hole when the Pelican containing Jon, Kelly and Sam gave the signal for the others to fall back. All but their own Pelican set a course to return to their ship with only the Separatist Banshee remaining to aid them on their objective.

The two crafts closed in on the weak spot, the Field Marshall's Banshee reactivating its active camo. The Pelican went through the plasma-shielded hole on the ship's side and shot at every enemy target in sight. Within only a few seconds of the bombardment, the platform was clear of Covenant soldiers. From ground troops to Ghosts to Turrets, all perished at the unexpected entrance of the Human intruders. Now rid of serious threats, the Pelican landed on the bottom floor of the two level platform they were in. The back of the vehicle opened and out stepped the trio of Spartans, with John holding the Assault Rifle, Kelly her twin SMGs, and Sam with his shotgun.

All three grabbed and holstered their share of the missiles and grabbed their weapons along with as much ammo as they could carry. The three looked above to find the Separatist Banshee uncloaking once again and watched it land next to the Pelican rather quickly. It opened in half vertically and the Sangheili hopped out to meet the squad. The Field Marshal looked at them and said, "We must go, Spartans. I shall take the lead, for I know these hallways as well as my own name."

"Understood," replied John in his usual baritone voice. Through the comms the Super Soldiers shared, the man said, "Keep your guard up and your profile low. This ship probably has several SpecOps Operatives on the hunt for intruders. If the Field Marshall gives an order, we follow it."

"Got it." His two friends replied. The experienced Elite took a good look around him, walking in the direction of a closed gate speaking, "We are not far. Expect heavy resistance on the other side, for we are going through the armory to get to the reactor."

The three didn't even nod and simply followed suit, eventually reaching the gate and taking the right side of the locked, metallic door. The Field Marshall looked at where a small stand was at the left of the entrance with a holographic sphere at the top, waiting to be touched. The three looked in confusion as the Sangheili stood in front of the purple cylinder and chuckled, prompting Sam to ask, "What is it?"

"The thought is amusing that so many ships, stations and bases are equipped with this lock. Said fact is not as humorous as the thought that with the help of the Oracle, we can get past any of their scanners and other similar defenses while they wouldn't even go through a door without having their hands burnt. To think that everything we rely on can be turned against us within a few hours, no, minutes… excuse my uncalled for stupor, Spartans. With age comes weariness." 'Lortell replied somewhat sourly.

"No need, sir. Let's just get the job done so we can get back to this war." John replied bluntly. The Sangheili nodded and placed his hand over the sphere, allowing the door before them to open. The tall alien murmured, "We have the element of surprise with us. We should make the best use of it until it no longer has effect."

"Agreed. The four of us should head in different directions and hit them from the highest place we can. That should leave them with little to no place to hide and they can be killed quickly." John spoke in his usual emotionless tone.

"Excellent strategy, Spartan. We shall put it to use and _rid this galaxy of their mongrel hides_." The Separatist whispered with fury. There was a small hallway on the other side of the door, one without any guards. The Field Marshall led the Spartans and signaled them to grab a Fuel Rod Gun at a nearby weapons pod to help dispatch all troops with ease. The Sangheili took right to a more narrow hall with a gravity lift at its end. 'Lortell stepped forward and let himself be taken by the vertical current the device created, prompting the Spartans to do the same.

Arriving within a matter of seconds, John looked around him to find himself and the others in the shadows, not visible to the few sentries with clearance for the platform. In total he counted three Jiralhanae Officers and one Sangheili Officer watching over the soldiers managing the equipment and vehicles. The Field Marshal gave a signal to John, one he proceeded to pass on to the other two Super Soldiers, and each took a position behind a sentry. With their blades ready for a swift strike, all of the guards succumbed to their approaching death without even knowing their assailants had taken their lives away. All four caught the bodies before they could fall into the large, rectangular pit of soldiers and vehicles and alert them of their presence before silently placing the corpses aside.

Now with the sentinels gone, the squad took aim with their Fuel Rod Guns, the first target being any and all energy batteries, and fired. John could only guess of the discord and confusion the Covenant soldiers were suffering from when they finally realized they were being shot from above with green, explosive projectiles that belonged to their own weapons. With each second that passed and each round that was used, dozens of the Covies fell to never get back up again. None were spared from the slaughter, the Unggoy being the quickest to fall while even Mgalekgolo dropped from the strength of the four explosive weapons used at the same time. Though the squad's ammo ended only shortly before their enemies did, it only took a few shots from their original weapons to finish off the last of the troops.

The four looked at one another and, upon finding no more enemies to kill, strategically jumped the long fall and landed rolling in such a way that their armors would receive minimal damage. Upon close inspection from the Spartans, they realized that though their bird's nest view was rectangular, the place as a whole was far more circular and even had two levels. The four looked to the end of the hallway to find the silver door's purple, glowing marks turn to a bright white before opening. It surprised the Spartans when they did not find anything on the other side, but the Separatist Field Marshall was quick to react and bellowed, "Special Operations warriors!"

John then realized what the aged warrior meant when he saw several Sangheili Covies in crimson armor deactivated their invisibility units and drew out their Energy Swords. John counted eight of them, each with a blade, and immediately shot the closest one to him, only to have the bullets deflected by the energy weapon. The same Sangheili along with a partner charged at the Spartan with their swords high, ready to kill the Super Soldier. With speed only a Spartan could have, John quickly dropped his Assault Rifle and took his combat knife from his sheath and took a defensive pose.

He was quick to dodge the first Sangheili's sword to the right while the second's he blocked with his knife. When the first made for a horizontal swipe, John jumped into a backflip, kicking the second's jaw in mid air, sending the Sangheili away from the two. Now with only one enemy, or at least temporarily, he punched the alien in the midsection and gave a roundhouse kick to the specops troop's right hand, the one he or she wielded the sword. John felt the satisfying crunch as his foot made contact with his assaulter's hand, indicating that he had broken the alien's hand. Though the Covie did not drop the weapon, it was noticeably more weakly held. John then ran with his knife to aim for the neck when the second Sangheili tackled him from the right.

On the floor, he looked a few meters to the left, where his knife slid on the metallic floor. He then quickly looked back to the second who had fallen on top of him, sword high, ready to end the Spartan's life. John, with all his strength, moved his torso to the side, toppling the alien over him, and gave a jab towards the alien's mandibles. That earned him a loud groan from the 8 foot tall alien, a sign that he had probably broken the alien's jaws in his first blow against the opponent. The first came into view, running at the Super Soldier still on the ground, now holding the sword in his or her left hand. John rolled to the left and grabbed his knife once again before standing back up once again and readying for his opponents.

The man noticed how both Sangheili looked slower than when they began their attack, likely because of the few yet powerful shots he took at them when he got the chance. The two charged and each made for a horizontal strike, one being higher than the other to avoid the same mistake as the previous time. John ducked and quickly inserted the knife into the first's knee, sending the Covie to a kneeling position. Before he could do anything more, he received a kick to his abdomen from the second's shin and was sent back. The strength of the kick had propelled him to hit back to back with someone else. In an instance, John jumped away and faced his third opponent to find Kelly facing him in a similar stance instead. Both quickly registered what happened and lunged at the other's attackers. Back to back, the two Spartans kept at the four Sangheili specops soldiers that would not cease their assault. John's first attacker, by far the slowest one of the four, made a slow lunge, one that cost the fighter's life. John had grabbed the Sangheili's left forearm with his left hand while his right arm he put behind the first Sangheili's left bicep. With his strength, John bent back and broke the alien's elbow, which the multi-mandibled gator responded with a bellow. John, still wielding the knife, brought it upon his enemy's neck, ending the Covie's life.

The others became enraged by their comrade's death and put more speed and strength to their strikes, leaving room for discord among themselves. John and Kelly blocked anything and everything that came their way, with Kelly eventually using her superb speed to bring the knife to the side of one of her attacker's heads. Now with two gone, the Spartans left their safeguard stances to go for the offensive, each taking on one Sangheili.

John delivered a quick jab to his assaulter's mandibles to stun the alien, but realized that this was Kelly's opponent since the punch had far less effect than expected. The Sangheili was quick to react and kicked the knife out of John's hand before making for a lunge with his sword. John had to roll quickly to avoid the sword and quickly grabbed the Sangheili's sword as soon as he was up again. While the Covie did not let up easily, the troop let go, letting the Spartan have his weapon and then kicked it out of the Super Soldier's hand like he or she did with the knife. John then knew this would be going to a close quarters combat session when he saw that neither held a weapon.

It came to a flurry of kicks and punches that both blocked, dodged or countered, neither gaining an advantage over the other. After John managed a successful right hook to the specops troop's jaw, the alien activated something in his or her right wrist and an Energy Dagger formed where there was once nothing on the Sangheili's arm. John managed to dodge the swipes and stabs coming from his attacker, yet he did not block another kick that hit his abdominal area once again. The Spartan mentally berated himself for allowing the same mistake to happen when he fell to the ground, and then looked to his right to find the Energy Sword his enemy had dropped within reach, stretching his arm to grab it. Just as it was in his fingertips, his hand was stepped on by the large, two-toed hoof that belonged to the Covie.

John looked up to find the Sangheili with his dagger back, ready to aim for the kill. He used the strength in his left hand to punch the alien in the right ankle. The Sangheili let out a grunt of pain and raised his left leg to stomp on the Spartan's head. The Super Soldier was stunned from the hit, which to his surprised had neither killed him nor destroyed his visor. How none of those scenarios had happened, he couldn't say, but part of him bet on his large amount of luck. In his daze, he looked up to find the Sangheili once again in the same pose, with the difference being that the large foot was on John's chest, trapping his left arm between the two metallic masses. The Covie raised his or her arm to the highest point, only to have it severed from the rest of his body in a second.

'Lortell swung once again and beheaded the Special Operations soldier on top of John, leaving the body limp and ready to fall. It took less than a second for gravity to take its toll on the fresh corpse, and John used his remaining strength to push the severed body off of him. He looked up to find the Field Marshal with his hand extended and took the hand with much unvoiced gratitude. He then turned to see Sam and Kelly exhausted as well, with bodies near them in similar conditions to the one that nearly killed him. All Spec Ops troops were accounted for, five having been killed by 'Lortell while the Spartans took one kill each.

John, finally regaining his senses, saw the Field Marshall wiping off some blood on him after he deactivated and holstered his Energy Sword. The Spartan then walked to where his two friends were to check up on them. It was a relief to him to find them both, or at least their armors, in good conditions. They probably had been through as much as him, but they looked to be faring well. From behind him he heard thundering footsteps, probably from 'Lortell, and he could tell he was coming at him. He wasn't sure whether the Separatist had gone rogue or whether this was all a very elaborate scheme to have him and the others killed, but he couldn't think straight because it all happened within a few seconds.

He heard the shot of a rifle, a Beam Rifle, and a low grunt from the Sangheili on top of him. 'Lortell got up and grabbed his Plasma Rifle with his left arm to shoot at a jackal sniper that had somehow survived the green rain that the Fuel Rod Guns had provided. Quickly, the avian alien fell, now truly dead and with no way to rise from the sea of corpses again. The aged veteran placed again his weapon at his left leg, ready for combat whenever he needed it. John was quick to get up as well and seeing 'Lortell's condition cleared his mind of any doubts he had of the Separatist.

There was a burn mark on the Sangheili's armor, on his right shoulder, formed by the Beam Rifle's powerful shot. John then realized that the Kig-Yar had been aiming at him, and the experienced Field Master had saved him from having his armor punctured and heightening the risk of death. The Spartan then said, "Thank you, sir. I owe you."

"You owe me nothing, Spartan. You owe the SA its freedom from the cruel chains of the Covenant, and you have proven throughout this mission that you are willing and able to do more than that. What I have done was nothing short of duty," the Separatist replied. It had only been seconds before that Sam and Kelly had run up to the two to see what had happened, and upon hearing the veteran's words, felt a newfound respect and a small amount of admiration for the alien. 'Lortell looked around and said, "We are close to the engines. Let us not forget our objective and that time is short on our hands. Thankfully, I do believe that all obstacles have been cleared from the remaining path. We must make haste."

"Sir," the three replied. With that, the four went into a sprint with 'Lortell taking the lead. They ran room past room, all doors opening to them with a simple glow, until they entered a large room that had the size of a long hall. At the center was a lavender cylinder that spawned from the floor and ended at the ceiling. The center was the only place that there was none of the purple metalloid, but instead a bright, diamond shaped light that indicated that it was the ship's fusion reactor.

"This is our objective, Spartans, place your missiles around them with their counters. It is time we make our departure." 'Lortell said. Just as the Spartans were placing the missiles around the reactor, the ship shook violently enough to be comparable to a massive earthquake. The lights flickered on and off, and the reactor looked a bit more unstable, yet still in good conditions. At that moment, 'Lortell placed his hand near the side of his helmet and roared, "THIS IS FIELD MARSHALL MATEK 'LORTELL, CAPTAIN OF THE _TRANSCENDENT ESSENCE_, _HOLD YOUR FIRE_! THAT IS AN ORDER! I AM ABOARD THE ENEMY SHIP ALONG WITH THE HUMAN'S SPARTANS!"

"Field Marshall, we are truly sorry for the strike, but we had finished with the second Covenant ship and the third was striking upon the _Commonwealth_ with no stop, and we took it upon ourselves to leave the ship crippled!" The comms ensign replied. 'Lortell sighed because he knew his crew did the right thing upon saving the Human ship, and yet he knew there was a cost to this. More calmly, he asked, "What is the exact status of this enemy ship? It is crucial for us to know."

"We have attacked their weapons systems and their vehicle depot, near where the other hole punctured by the Human ship was."

"And were you aware that near that area was the Spartans' pilot, including her ship, as well as my own Banshee, our way off this ship?"

"Yes, Field Marshall, we only struck upon these bastards because we managed to hack the security logs on this ship as soon as we finished the second, and found your transports to have been destroyed by a rather large group of Mgalekgolo near the area."

"So the pilot was dead either ways?"

"Yes. I am sorry Field Marshall, it was the only way to ensure both the safety of the Human ship and your squads as well, for all the soldiers left were on their way to your position."

'Lortell sighed, "You did the right thing, warriors. Answer me one more question, however. What is the status of this ship's vehicle depot?"

"Other than the hole in the middle of it and the fact that it is decompressed, it is in fine conditions. If I am correct, there are still various Banshees that could serve as transport to you."

'Lortell looked up for a few seconds, knowing fully well the implications of what this meant. "I understand. We will carry on with our mission."

"Of course, Field Marshall, may the Gods watch over you."

'Lortell finally took his fingers off the right side of his helmet, and looked forward, not really at anything, in a state of slight melancholy. Kelly was quick to ask, "What's wrong, sir?"

'Lortell looked at them, seeing the missiles in place and then thought everything that was about to happen over. "It is time for you to leave, Spartans. I have no doubt you overheard my conversation and that you are aware of your transport's condition. The aircraft depot is awaiting you on the opposite entrance of where we originally landed, and there you shall find your carriers to safety."

"Yes, sir, and we can all get out of this in one piece, just arm the timers and come with us.." Sam replied.

"No, Spartan, _you _can still get out of this alive. My fate has already been sealed. The depot has been decompressed, and the puncture wound in my armor would kill me long before any Covenant soldier could." 'Lortell replied in acceptance.

John shifted in his position before saying, "Sir, we can clear the depot of any enemies left, and then pick you up in a Phantom without you-"

"_No_, Spartan, _you cannot_. I've already come to terms with my own death, and I know I've made no mistake in taking your place when the sniper took aim at you. You've proved to have the skills officers train for decades to wield, and I'm willing to bet you are very young if you've only had a few missions so far, all of which have been successful. Now go, for I shall guard the missiles until my last breath, and destroy the Covenant. It is my last order."

The three understood what this meant, and before going, John said to the alien, "It's been an honor."

"The honor has been mine, Spartans. Save the Separatist Alliance from the Covenant, and never underestimate your enemies. You are our beacon of hope in the dark times to come." 'Lortell murmured.

The three stood there for a moment before nodding at the Separatist and taking on a sprint once again, heading towards the place beyond where they were before.

**08:19 ****– November 27****th****, 2525 – UNSC Commonwealth**

Wallace sat in his chair, relieved after several close calls on many occasions. From the near death of one of the Spartan trios, to the continuous pummeling his ship received from the Covie ship, he was sure his hair had grayed severely from the tense experience. He had to give it to the _Transcendent Essence_, it put up a hell of a fight to destroy two ships and finish crippling the third. One of his comms ensigns called out three Banshees heading towards their position, yet were quickly identified as friendly despite the missing Mark of Honor. As soon as the three were identified as the Spartans, Wallace asked, "Where's the Field Marshall?"

"Sir, we're picking up a heat signature near the missiles!" The same Ensign from before shouted. The Captain inquired tensely, "Can you hack any cameras in the room?"

"Yes, sir!" The process was slow, slow enough to give time for the Banshees to land on the ship's hangar and for all the Spartans to report to the Captain. Wallace turned around to the three Spartans in front of the rest, the ones with the serial numbers 117, 087 and 034. "Well? Where's 'Lortell?"

John stepped forward to answer but was interrupted by the ensign who shouted, "Sir, we hacked it! We're patching it through!"

All stayed silent when they saw 'Lortell in a less than defensive stance looking on at the missiles' timers. He sighed, unholstering both his Plasma Rifle and his Energy Sword and letting the two weapons fall to the purple, metallic ground. The tall alien looked up one more time before grabbing onto the reactor in front of him, closing his eyes, and reciting, "Forgive me Gods, for I have sinned.

"I, as well as the Sangheili, have committed a terrible crime against an innocent race under the pretext that they were your only undoing and it was our duty to eliminate their existence. My apology is worth nothing and I am more than aware of that, for I have been among those who led one of the first glassings upon their less well armed colonies. I have fought for a wrong cause and I have fought without honor, something that without doubt has earned me my upcoming death. Though I repented as soon as I learned of the truth, once again a pray for forgiveness that might be earned through the salvation of the Spartan that I accompanied on this mission.

"It has become clear to me that these are going to be the warriors that will truly make a difference in this war. Only a few records are available of their known missions, not because of the secrecy, but because of their youth. Already I have seen with my own eyes the display of skill that only very experienced Officers and Special Operations Troopers share, ones that already have had decades worth of experience. My decision to take one's place when confronted with the arms of death itself may be the indirect salvation of millions of lives on my part. For this, I once again repent for the sins I have perpetrated, for I believe this to be my true act of redemption."

Through the video, the crew watched as 'Lortell looked back at the missile's counters, only at seven seconds until their detonation, and he muttered, "Gods grant me peace."

And with that, the camera log was replaced by a nothingness, meaning its destruction, and all those aboard the _Commonwealth_ watched as the Covenant ship's center emitted an eye-piercing light which soon consumed the rest of the ship. No one spoke, as they remained silent in respect for the fallen Shipmaster.

**Author's Notes: Well, now you know what I meant when I said that I will be saving a lot more people than it should be acceptable, and once again I remind you that this is all with good reason. I'd like to apologize for the part where the Spartans and 'Lortell head for the Covie ship for rushing it, but belive me that I wouldn't have gotten past that part if I didn't. I hope you've enjoyed the chapter (especially the hand to hand combat fights, I put a hell of an effort in that), and all constructive reviews and criticisms are welcome.**

**The Almighty Afroduck,**

**All Hail**


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